Tormented and Hopeless
by littledorkling
Summary: Cassie has been abused all her life, but what happens when she's suddenly disowned and shipped off to London to live with a brother she's never met and didn't know existed...? A Niall Horan love story 3


Tormented and Hopeless

Chapter 1

Hey, there. I'm Catherine, but I always go by Cassie... Or whatever you want to call me; I don't really care. You probably don't know me. Not many people do. Here's a little bio for you: I'm that girl who's always awkwardly in the background in class pictures and doesn't have her picture taken for the yearbook per parents' bribing. You know, the one you always see at lunch, sitting by herself, not eating, but always with her nose in a book. Even at the end of the year, when everyone get at least one reward for just showing up, my parents, once again, bribe the school to just mail my awards home. Not that they're ever read, or anything. You know, because they don't want anyone to see their embarrassing daughter's hideous face. The school thinks that I'm just shy and that my parents just want to save me the humiliation and embarrassment of going up in front of the school... I am shy, but my parents don't care. The school and everyone would be shocked if they knew the real reason.

...

What?

...

Why are you staring at me like that?

...

Oh; you want me to tell you the real reason, don't you?

...

Thought so.

...

Alright; fine. Have it your way.

Have you ever had anyone at school that was covered in scrapes, cuts, and bruises? I doubt it. Most schools would freak and immediately call an ambulance. But not my school. My school has never been very responsible or even sympathetic, especially when concerning its students. You could come to school in a full body cast and the staff wouldn't excuse you for being late to classes. Doctors' notes are meaningless pieces of paper to them. I've seen kids fail P.E. because they have asthma or stayed home from school for a week because of an accident or even per a doctor's order.

On the other hand, the school can argue that they don't know I'm being abused at home. I never wear anything but black jeans, black combat boots, black shirts, (varying only between long-sleeved and short), and my signature black jacket. The jacket isn't leather or anything special, but I never take it off. The hood is always up and I continuously let my hair fall forward, concealing my face. The kids at school just think I'm emo, and stay away from me. But I don't feel the loss of not having a friend or a boyfriend, because I've never had either and have absolutely no clue what it feels like.

Now that we have my background covered, why don't we get on with the present?

It's the last day of school and I'm scared. The only thing that has kept me alive since the day I was born has been school. When I excelled in school, I received less beatings. I didn't know what they were going to do with me when school ends... Which is in only a few moments.

My entire graduating class surrounded me, and I could feel the excitement buzzing in the air. The guys were laughing and cheering, while the girls were hugging and sobbing their good-byes.

I was standing in the background, like always, watching all this taking place, when suddenly one of the girls detached herself from the throng of students and walked up to me. She smiled.

"Hey, I'm Blake." She said, reaching her hand out to me.

I just stood there and blinked at her hand, shocked.

Blake withdrew her hand. "Anyway, my friends over there," she pointed toward the group of girls who were giggling and watching us, "dared me to come over and talk to you." She shrugged. "What's your name?"

I didn't answer. I'm not accustomed to speaking unless its a cry.

Blake stared at me for a moment, obviously expecting an answer. Just as she was about to turn around and go back to other friends, I said, quietly, "Cassie."

She paused, looking back at me with a shocked expression. "What?"

"My name is Cassie." I responded in a slightly louder voice than before.

Blake, with a mask of confusion mingling pure shock on her face, merely turned and walked away. But, before she was gone, I saw the corners of her mouth glide slightly upward. I wasn't sure that it was a smile, though. I don't really see many of those, especially not ones directed at me.

I just sighed and gave up on thinking about it. That smile could have been aimed toward one of her friends, after all. I was only being silly and over thinking it, as Mother always says I do. Piercingly loud, the bell signaling the beginning of graduation rang.

I kept my head down as we all filed out the back room to the row of chairs in the front of the audience. I had mapped out in my head what number I would be on the alphabetic list so that I would be prepared when my name was called. I get comfortable in my chair, closed my eyes and mentally counted down. I tensed as the numbers became smaller...

5:

"Nathaniel Quick!"

4:

"Dora Rorlington!"

3:

"Sydney Surnit!"

2:

"Joshua Talisman!"

I take a deep breath... 1:

"Catherine Tomlinson!"

I stood and shyly made my way up to the stage.

"Congratulations." Principal Pinckney whispered in my ear, shaking my hand and handing me the thick sheet of paper that signaled I was officially out of Grade School.

I put on a small smile, a genuine one, for my favorite teacher and principal.

I quietly stood beside my fellow classmates, keeping my head down while they grinned and snickered at their families in the audience, which erupted in a cheer as the last student made their way to stand beside me. Hats flew and suddenly everyone was everywhere; it felt like the walls were closing in on me. Did I mention that I'm a bit claustrophobic?

Stifling the urge to cry out as I was shoved and pushed throughout the crowd on my way to the door, I moved as quickly as I could grasping my certificate tightly in hand.

Finally, I made it outside, gasping in deep breaths of the cool, fresh air. Opening my eyes, which had closed upon my reaching fresh air, and looking around the parking lot, I tried to memorize each detail; the thought had finally sunk in that I would never return to this place again. The familiar tree that I had read under during recess in elementary school, the beaten up bleachers with spray-painted profanities everywhere you looked. I fondly reached down and plucked a small rose, carefully avoiding the thorns, and brought it to my nose. It smelled sweet, reminding me of the times I would run here in the morning, sobbing from an exceptionally painful beating, and smell the roses, closing my eyes and imagining that I was someone else, somewhere else. Of course, no one ever saw me there, seeing as I always arrived at school obscenely early.

Sighing, I took one last look around the place. I was honestly going to miss the peaceful tree, the rose bush, even the bleachers. My nose wrinkled. Okay, maybe not the bleachers.

I closed my eyes for a small moment to think about the good, peaceful things, before I had to go home and face my verdict, the one that would determine the rest of my life.

Opening my eyes, I took my cap and gown off, (my regular clothes were underneath), and tucked them away into my schoolbag, before heading down the familiar sidewalk.

I took my time with the walk, but it was hard to delay the inevitable; the house I dreaded so much was only a block away... I took as much time as I could, nevertheless, stopping every once in a while to let my eyes roam the beautiful sunset. I sighed, like I always did, when my eyes rested on the Pacific. I wanted so badly to move to London, but... well, you get the picture. It wasn't like I had a choice.

I tore my gaze away from the ocean and to the long driveway in front of me, taking a deep, firm break. I tried to conceal my shaking as I knocked softly on the front door. It flung open before I could touch it, and I was grabbed crudely by my father, and thrown in. I emitted a small gasp when my feet lifted from the ground, and bit back a cry as I crashed right into my Mother. She shoved me off her, as Father stormed out of the room. I cowered in the corner, bringing my knees up to my chest. Mother slapped me.

"Stop being a coward and get up!" She growled.

I stood on my shaking legs, and swallowed. "Y-yes, Ma'am?" I stuttered, earning another slap from her.

"Do NOT stutter when you speak to me!" She screamed in outrage.

"I apologize, Mother." I said, swallowing back the instinctive urge to stutter.

She sat back with a satisfied look on her face. "Now, I have news for you. Your Father and I cannot stand to see your filthy face around our home anymore, so we're shipping you off to London. You'll be living there with your brother."

At first I was excited. I'm going to London! I guess dreams really do come true... But then something else she said registered, and the question came out before I had time to stop it. "I have a brother?"

She slapped me again. "Know your place, girl! Do not speak unless spoken to first!" She shouted, infuriated once again.

"Yes, Ma'am." I whispered quietly, mentally slapping myself for saying something so rash. She ignored my question anyway.

"All you need to know is that your brother's name is Louis, and he lives with a friend of his. He has four friends that, altogether, form a very popular boy band." Her voice changed from reprimanding to a growl. "If you do anything to ruin their fame, I swear on my life I will fly out there and kill you with my bare hands. Understand me?"

I swallowed thickly and nodded.

"I said, 'DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?'!" She shouted.

"Yes, Ma'am." I replied quickly.

She calmed slightly. "One more small detail: You won't just be living with Louis for the summer; his family has adopted you, as we have disowned you." She looked me up and down in disgust. "Go pack what things you have and get your filthy face out of here!" She shouted.

"Yes, Ma'am!" I replied quickly and scrambled over to the stairs, taking them two at a time. Easily locating the closet I kept my clothes in and slept in, I threw all my clothes into a little suitcase I found sitting in the middle of the floor. My clothes didn't even fill half of the bag... Pathetic, I know.

Snapping the suitcase shut, I hurried out of the closet, and, without a second glance, rushed down the stairs. Mother and Father were waiting in front of the door, arms crossed.

"Unfortunately for us, we've been instructed by law to drive you to the airport." Father wrinkled his nose, and muttered to Mother, as they were walking out the door, "Remind me to buy seat cleansing things when we finish throwing away the trash." Mother laughed.

Unsure what to do next, I followed them, cautiously. Father yanked open the back door of their car and shoved me in. Now, I know this may seem weird to you, but I've never been in a moving vehicle before. I've never even had a bike, and I've never seen the need for vehicles, since I can walk. That's what legs are for.

It only took me a couple minutes to find out that I don't like vehicles. At all. Unfortunately, Father seemed to pick up on this, and made the car go faster and faster, taking in, with delight, my uncomfortable and nauseous position of the seat. My knuckles were pale from the level of intensity I was clutching my seatbelt with. Luckily, it had only taken me a moment to figure out how to use that.

I sighed in relief when we finally pulled up in the front of the airport. Father didn't even bother to park, get out, or even say goodbye. He just said, "Out." as Mother threw a small piece of paper at me. After I had gotten out of the car and watched it speed away for a moment. I took a deep breath, and finally decided it was safe to look at the piece of paper Mother had so kindly thrown at me. I suspected it was a plane ticket, and, obviously, my suspicions were right.

Thinking hard, I tried to recall what I knew about airports. Nothing came up. But then I heard a loud computerized voice say, "Flight 23 to London boarding now.", and looked around in fright. No! Not when I was this close to freedom! I looked around desperately until I found someone with an official-looking uniform on. "Excuse me, sir; I'm not quite sure where to go. I've never flown before." I showed him my ticket nervously and he just chuckled, pointing at a small plane, doors looking as if they were about to close. "Thank you so much, sir!" I shouted before rushing off to the doors. I showed my ticket to a man standing at the door, and he pointed toward the front of the plane. Confused, I made my way there, while everyone else on the plane stared at me. Gently pushing aside a curtain I stepped inside. There was no one there. "Excuse me," I confusedly asked a woman in a uniform, pushing a cart in my direction, "Am I in the right place?" I showed her my ticket. She glanced at the ticket, her eyes running swiftly over it, before nodding and pointing toward a seat next to a window. I swallowed and sat down nervously. If being in a car had done terrible things to my insides, I was terribly afraid what being in a plane would do to them. I looked up and searched for the woman that had helped me, ready to ask her how long the ride would be, but instead, I met the eyes of a boy about my age. He was wearing the same kind of uniform as the woman had, though, so I was going to ask him the same question, but... I became tongue-tied when he smiled at me. "This will be a long ride." He said. "You may want something to do... Or you can sleep." He flashed me a grin, and I bit my lip to keep from smiling back. I looked down, but when I looked up again to thank him for the tip, he wasn't there. Frowning, I turned to the window. But I listened again as another voice through a speaker started announcing safety precautions. I tried to remember them all but there were quite a bit. Finally, I gave up and sat back, getting comfortable... That was, until I heard a different voice say that the plane was about to lift off. I clenched my teeth, bracing myself for the gut-wrenching feeling I had gotten in the car, but it never came, I didn't feel anything at all, actually. Curious as to if the plane had been delayed, I looked out the window... and gasped. I couldn't see anything below me. It was all clouds. My hands clenched around the armrests. Even though my stomach couldn't feel that I was no longer on the ground, the rest of my body could. I suddenly had a terrible headache and all I wanted to do was sleep. I closed my eyes as tightly as my hands were clenched and... fell into a dreamless sleep. For the first time in my life, I was excited, and no thoughts of my Mother or Father were going to ruin this for me.

Chapter 2

I slowly stood, gathering my bearings before making my way outside. I was confused; I didn't know where my bag was. That was when I saw a sign that said 'Baggage Claim' and some other people from my plane making their way toward it. The airport smelled like sweaty people, but that was probably because there were so many people around me. I took a deep breath, telling myself not to get claustrophobic now, not when I needed to be calm the most. I made my way to baggage claim and spotted my bag instantly. Quickly, I grabbed it and was immediately shoved into a crowd of people. After a few moments of being pushed around, I was near tears. Finally, I saw a man in a suit and sunglasses, holding a sign with my name on it; he looked to be about Father's age. I swallowed and walked over to him cautiously.

"Are you Catherine Tomlinson?" He asked me in a thick British accent.

"I prefer Cassie." I said quietly. He just chuckled.

"Come with me."

"Are you Louis?" I questioned in my ever quiet voice.

The man laughed loudly, and it occured to me for the first time the possibility that this man wasn't my brother. But you can't blame me for thinking he was; after all, I had no clue how old Louis was.

"No; I'm not Lou." The man responded, still chuckling softly.

I looked at him curiously. "Who are you, then?" My eyes widened. "I apologize; I didn't mean to be rude." I mumbled, looking down uncertainly.

The man looked at me curiously for a moment; I realized a lot of people had been doing that lately... He smiled at me.

"It's not a problem at all. Actually, I'm just a driver." He smiled again, and I noticed we had reached a sleek black... limo, I think, is what it's called...

Confused, I took his offered hand and nervously got into the limo. I looked around. It was really a nice vehicle, despite the fact that I didn't like vehicles.

I wanted to call for the man, to ask if the ride would be as nerve-wracking as the first one I had received, but I didn't know his name. "Um; hello?" I called awkwardly. I heard a muffled chuckle from the front, then the voice became clearer:

"Yes, Miss?" I felt my cheeks burn slightly.

"I; um; er;" I stuttered. "I just wanted to know what your name was...?" I asked cautiously. "But you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I mumbled quickly. He just chuckled again.

"My name, Miss? It's Thomas." His voice sounded like he was smiling, but I wasn't quite sure.

I felt my lips curve up slightly at the sides, and I relaxed back into my seat. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep again.

I woke to someone shaking me, much like on the plane, but this time it was someone with a rougher grip. I gasped and pulled away into the corner of wherever I was, drawing my knees to my chest and shaking. I waited until the pain had ebbed slightly before I peered over my knees. Thomas was bent into the doorway of the limo, staring at me, mouth slightly agape. "I-I'm sorry, Miss. I didn't mean to frighten you."

I gulped. "Y-you didn't frighten me, I j-just have a few... b-bruises on my sh-sh-shoulders." I mumbled.

Thomas was already holding my bag and smiling softly at me. He held out his hand. I took it, still shaking slightly, and let him help me out of the limo. I looked up at the massively large building in front of me. I could sense Thomas standing beside me. "Erm..." He scratched his head. I looked at him curiously; he looked back at me. "Lou isn't home right now... but his best mate Harry is, I'm sure. Here's your own key," He pulled a card of some sort out of his back pocket and handed it to me, "but if you ever forget it or lose it, you can just ring and Harry or Lou will let you in. Most of the time, at least one of the lads are home..." He looked at me again and smiled. "You can just go right in." He gestured to the door.

I smiled at him, one of my rare genuine smiles. "Thank you, Thomas."

He grinned at me, and handed over my suitcase bag.

Taking it graciously, I thanked him one last time, and headed into the hotel. The woman at the desk in front of me just smiled when I walked in. I didn't really notice any details; I kept my head completely down. I had never been in a hotel before, but, since I saw people coming in and out of the... elevator, I presumed, I went in myself. Luckily, no was that could see how clueless I was was in there with me. I was going out on a limb here, but I assumed the buttons on the elevator wall signaled the floor numbers. Scanning the card Thomas had given me, I pressed the button with the number five. I didn't have to wait at all until my stomach lurched, and I gasped, clenching my teeth and bearing through it, until I heard the elevator ding. I jumped when the doors opened, but I slowly made my way out of the elevator and into the hallway. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall. Right now I just wanted to cry myself to sleep, like any other night. Opening my eyes, I forced myself to look at the card again. I followed the numbers along the wall until I found a door with a number on top of it that matched the number on the card. I took a deep breath and examined the thin slot near the door handle. My eyes widened, and I figured that I should put the card in the slot. I smiled when the light turned green, but the smile faded into nervousness as I opened the door slowly.

"HELLO DARE!" was immediately shouted in my face. I cowered back into my jacket, but then... all was quiet. I peered out of my jacket, and was greeted with two grinning faces. I shrieked and pulled my hood down over my face. One of them laughed and pulled it off my head.

I stared at them for a moment. The one who had yelled in my face and almost scared me to death had shaggy brown hair and was grinning. He was wearing a red and white stripped shirt with suspenders and jeans that were rolled up slightly at the bottom.

I looked at the other boy, the one that had pulled my hood off of my head. He had messy, curly hair and was wearing jeans and a blue shirt. He was smiling and shaking his head.

I cocked my head to the side. "Who's who?" I asked quietly.

The one in the striped shirt grinned at me. "I'm Lou, your favorite brother!" One side of my mouth turned up.

"You're my only brother, and I've only just met you, so how could you be my favorite already?" He pouted. I just smiled and turned to the other boy.

He smiled at me. "I'm Hazza. Or Haz. Or Harry. Whichever is fine." He said.

"Nice to meet you, Harry. Does he do this all the time?" I asked, gesturing to Louis, who was fake-crying on Harry's shoulder.

"She hates me, Haz!" He fake-sobbed, as Harry nodded, rolling his eyes.

I smiled at Louis when he finally got over his fit. He pumped his fist in the air. "Yes! I got her to smile!" He pulled me into an unexpected, bone-crushing hug.

I gasped, trying to pull away. He let me go instantly, eyes wide. My lower lip was trembling. "I'm sorry." I mumbled. "I just... have a few bruises on my back. And my shoulders. And everywhere else." I whispered the last part to myself and smiled sadly when Harry looked at me curiously.

They both frowned, but changed the subject nonetheless.

"Aren't you tired?" Harry asked. "Jet lag and all..."

My eyebrows furrowed. "Jet lag?"

Louis' mouth fell open.

"You don't know what jet lag is?" Harry questioned curiously.

My cheeks burned as I lowered my head. "No." I muttered quietly.

Harry raised my chin and smiled at me. "It's alright, love." He took my bag from me. "I'll explain jet lag to you later. The point is, are you tired?"

I pulled my hood back over my head and ducked to cover the fact that my face was on fire. "Um; yes; a bit." I muttered, head lowered.

"Follow me." Harry said, smiling when I looked up at him. He moved out of the room and into a little hallway. There were three rooms altogether: two on the left side, and one on the right. Harry opened the door to the one on the right and went inside. I followed him cautiously, watching as he gently set my bag down at the end of the bed. I was still awkwardly standing in the doorway when Louis came in.

"Hello again, Catherine!" He said, smiling.

I couldn't help but smile a little at how happy he seemed. "Hello Louis, but I'd like if you called me Cassie instead of Catherine."

He grinned widely at me. "Alright, Cassie. But that means you have to call me Lou instead of Louis now."

I nodded slightly. I could do that... if I remembered to.

"Right! Back to business now." Harry said, suddenly, startling me. I jumped. "I'm sorry, Cassie." He said, looking at me. I couldn't tell what emotion his eyes held. The only I had ever seen on anyone's face when talking to me was anger, disgust, annoyance, and hate, so... I wasn't quite sure what to make of his expression. I just nodded. He smiled at me. "Right; so, they boys will be over in about an hour to meet you. We'll be going out to Nandos for dinner."

Nandos? Dinner? Going out?

Louis must have noticed how confused I looked, because he said, "Nandos is a food place here in England. It's our mate, Niall's, favorite place to eat, and we go there quite often, so that's where we're going tongiht." He must have noticed that I still looked confused. "What? He asked. "Is it because Nandos is a weird name or because Niall is a weird name?" He looked at me suspiciously for a moment, then laughed. "I'm joking."

I just stared at him for a moment, then said, quietly, of course, "There are places you can go to eat?"

He looked at me strangely. "Of course. Didn't your parents ever take you out to eat?" I shook my head, and he looked shocked. "Never?" I shook my head again. "Not even on a special occassion, like your birthday or Christmas or Thanksgiving or any other time?" I bit my lip and shook my head once again.

"My parents didn't celebrate my birthday, and I wasn't allowed to celebrate their birthdays or holidays with them." Lou's jaw dropped. I hung my head again, and sighed. There was so much I didn't know and hadn't experienced...

But my chin was lifted up for the second time that night. I looked into Louis' grinning face. "Apparently, your Mum and Dad were a bit over protective!" He smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry; I shall be an amazing big brother and teach you everything you don't know about this strange world we live in!" He boasted in a loud voice, then looked at me. I surpressed the urge to giggle. "Did you ever go anywhere but school and home?" I shook my head.

Lou shook his head. "I shall leave you to shower and get dressed." He said, turning toward the door, but stopped himself halfway there. "Oh, and wear a dress." He said, winking at me.

"Um; Lou?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"I don't own a dress." I mumbled.

He gasped dramatically. "Every female has at least one dress!"

I shook my head. "I don't."

He looked at me suspiciously. "Are you sure you're female?"

This time I couldn't hold in my gigle. "Yes, Lou; I'm positive that I'm female."

He looked at me suspiciously for another short moment, then caved. His face cracked into a smile. "Well, I have a dress of my sister's that you can borrow. Go shower! I'll leave it outside the door for you." He bolted out the door before I could ask him why he had a dress of his sister's... well, I guess she's my sister now, also.

I decided to explore my new room a bit before tackling the challenge of finding where the restroom was. My plans were smashed, though, when I heard Harry's amused voice behind me. "That's Louis for you." I jumped... again. I had forgotten he was in the room. He sighed and shook his head, smiling slightly. "Maybe I should be louder so I don't scare you as much?" He suggested. My mouth turned up a little at the corners. He grinned. "There's that smile I was looking for." I giggled slightly.

He grinned again. "I suppose, in his rush to find his dress," Harry said, amused, "Lou forgot to show you where the loo is."

I shrugged. "It appears so." I said, smiling a little.

He smiled. "Once again, follow me." He said, walking toward the door that I assumed was the closet in my new room. I was confused, but I had no choice but to follow him. He opened the closet door, revealing another large room, though smaller than the one we were just in, and with clothing racks leaning against all four walls, which were a light, airy blue, as in the bedroom, and the carpet was a soft, dark blue... again, like in the bedroom.

When I stopped going over the oversized closet with my eyes, I noticed Harry leaning against a door on the wall of the closet opposite me. A small smile grazed across my lips. "This is a very large home you have." I said quietly. Harry just smirked.

"Being famous and having tons of money does has its perks. Besides, this is only temporary, while we're in town. By the way, Lou picked out this room specifically for you. He picked out the carpet, the walls, all the furniture, and even had them add your own private loo." He said, gesturing to the door he was leaning on. "He's been really excited about having a new little sister." Harry rolled his eyes. "It was really getting on everyone's nerves." He grinned at somewhere behind me in the doorway. "Speaking of the devil..."

"Hey!" Lou shouted from the closet doorway. "Talking about me?" He asked, grinning goofily and awkwardly holding a silver dress in his hands.

I bit my lip and swallowed hard, looking at the dress. "Lou?" I asked quietly. He looked at me and smiled, handing me the dress. I shook my head, eyes wide. "I really don't need to wear a dress; especially not your sister's..." I trailed off.

"Our sister's." He corrected me. "You're family now." He said, pinching my cheek, and I swatted his hand away. There were bruises there... "Sorry." He whispered to me, but slipped the dress into my hands, crossing his arms so I couldn't give it back to him. I sighed. He tunred away from me and looked at Harry. "HAZZA!" He shouted.

"BOO BEAR!" Harry shouted back.

Louis scowled, but raced over to him and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "How about we go do a twitcam and leave Cassie alone to get ready, yeah?" Harry nodded and followed Louis out of the closet and bedroom.

I shook my head, but smiled a little. I think I was going to like those boys. They were like adorable little kids. I had spoken more to them than I had ever spoken before in my life. They had both made me smile, and laugh, which are two things I hadn't really known I could do. I had thought that those two things were talents other people had that I didn't. Apprently, I had been wrong.

Anxious to please, I made my way into the 'loo' quickly, shut the door, and locked it. Peeling off my clothes, I stared at myself in the mirror in horror. I looked horrible. There were bruises and cuts all over. Not to mention I was the ugliest person I'd ever seen. I had long, wavy, dark brown hair that went halfway down my back, but was currently straightened, since Mother had never let me keep it wavy, large brown eyes, and thick eyelashes. I just shook my head at my hideous reflection and got into the shower. I have always loved water, and still do, but I hate showers because I couldn't stand wet hair. I mean, I didn't mind other peoples' wet hair, I just couldn't stand the feel of my own wet hair. But I washed my hair nevertheless, letting it be wavy for the first time in my life, and, after lathering myself with soap and rinsing it off multiple times, I finally got out. I wrapped myself in a warm, fuzzy towel I found waiting for me on the sink, and stared at the dress dubiously. How was this going to work? I could still wear my jacket, I supposed, which would cover up most of the bruises and cuts, and the only shoes I had were my combat boots... but that leaves some of my legs. I sighed and slipped the dress on, wrinkling my nose at myself in the mirror. The dress was pretty, but I made it look terrible. I was surprised it even fit. There were thin, transparent straps on my shoulders, and silky silver flowed from there to my waist, where it tightened into a comfortable ribbon. From there it just flowed. It was a beautiful dress, just not on me. I sighed, put my jacket on, snatched up my boots, and walked cautiously out of the closet, my bedroom, and into the hallway. From there all I could hear was Louis. He was screaming. I placed my hands over my ears tightly until I was sure the screaming had stopped. I warily walked down the hallway and peered into the main room to see Lou tackling a boy in a hug; the boy was laughing while trying to keep himself steady and upright. I looked around to see Harry with two other boys, talking and laughing on their couch. Suddenly I was nervous. I waited until everyone was quieter and just talking before I called, quietly, "Lou?" He heard me. I saw his head turn in my direction and quickly ducked back into the hallway as I saw the boy he'd tackle-hugged look over, also.

"Be right back!" Lou chirped happily to everyone.

Then I saw his shaggy head pop up next to me. "What's up, little sis?" He asked, ruffling my hair. "Wanna come out and meet the boys?"

I bit my lip. "Now?" I asked, quietly.

Lou laughed. "Aw; are you nervous?"I covered my red face with my hair, and that's when he noticed the dress. His jaw dropped.

My eyes fiilled with tears. "Yes; I know; it looks stupid on me and I should probably go take it off now." I struggled to keep my voice steady and immediately turned to run back to my room, but Louis grabbed my arm. I gasped; even through my jacket, he had grasped a bruise.

He covered his mouth with his hand. "God; I'm sorry, Cassie. I keep forgetting about you being hurt..."

Robotically, I repeat the sentence I was told by my parents to always use when people tried to apologize to me. "No; it's my fault; I apologize. Please, forgive me?" I mumbled, my head bowed, staring at the floor as if there were something interesting there. I heard rather than saw his jaw drop this time.

"Cassie, don't say that; it's not your fault you're bruised. Whoever did this to you is at fault!"

My eyebrows furrowed. "Father says it's my fault for being alive and that he and Mother are just punishing me for that."

Louis looked at me incredulously before dropping the matter. "Cassie, we will talk about this later." He said gently. "I want you to tell me everything about your life before you came here."

I nodded reluctantly. "There's not much to tell, though."

"It doesn't matter." He said, firmly. "Right now, what matters is that you look beautiful in that dress and I'm going to prove it to you."

I looked up at him, confused, before I noticed that he had grabbed my hand and was dragging me into the main room, where all the boys were silent and watching, and, by then, it was too late to protest.

"Okay; this is how this is going to go!" Louis said happily. "We're going to keep it simple and vote." The boys shot each other and him confused glances. "Whomever thinks Cassie is absolutely gorgeous in this dress, raise your hand." I shrank back into my jacket and peered out slightly as understanding lighted their faces and all four raised their hands, including Lou, who was still standing next to me. I ducked my head once again to hide my red face when I noticed one of the boys staring at me intensely.

"Right!" Louis said, smiling. "With that settled, how about introductions and then off to dinner!" They all cheered.

Lou pointed to the one with jet black hair and dark brown eyes. "Cassie, this is Zayn; Zayn, this is Cassie."

He smiled at me. "Pleased to meet you."

I felt the blood fill my cheeks again. "Hello..." I mumbled.

Lou turned to the one with light brown hair and light brown eyes. "Cassie, this is Liam; Liam, this is Cassie."

Liam's warm eyes met mine, and I couldn't help but smile a little. "Hello, Cassie. Nice to meet you."

"Erm; hello..." I mumbled... again. Amazing with words, aren't I?

Finally, Lou turned to the one with blonde hair and blue eyes. The one he had tackled, the one who'd stared at me so intently. "Cassie, this is Niall; Niall, this is Cassie."

He smiled at me, and I just about fainted. I managed an "Uh; erm..."

Niall just laughed. "Pleased to meet you, Cassie!" He said in a thick Irish accent. I sneaked a peek at him; his cheeks were tinged slightly red.

Louis was grinning like a madman next to me.

"FOOD!" Everyone all shouted at once, practically busting down the door, arguing over who got to sit where, and what not. Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out whether I should follow or not. I pulled on my combat boots.

Suddenly, I saw Niall's blonde head pop back into the room.

"Coming?" He asked, in that adorable Irish accent of his.

I gulped. "Am I supposed to?"

He chuckled. "Well, Louis did lead us to believe that a beautiful lady was supposed to accompany us for dinner, so... I'm assuming that would be you?" He smiled cheekily at me. I'm sure my face was on fire.

"Oh; no." I mumbled, my voice barely audible. "I'm hardly beautiful and Louis did question whether or not I was a lady earlier..."

Niall chuckled. "That sounds like Lou." He moved farther into the room and reached out his arm to me. "May I?" He asked. I gulped, but nodded. His arm snaked around my waist and I shivered. "You're actually very beautiful." He mumbled in my ear, and my face went up in flames.

Before I could protest, I heard Lou's voice from downstairs. "Nialler! Cassie!" He whined. "We're starving out here!"

Not moving his arm from around my waist, Niall escorted me out of the hotel and to the limo waiting on the sidewalk. Thomas was standing beside the door, grinning at me. "Hello, Thomas." I greeted politely, smiling. He smiled back at me, and moved to get into the driver's seat, as Niall went to help me inside the limo.

I was seated between Niall and Lou, while Harry, Zayn, and Liam were across from us. I braced myself for the ride. It went a lot smoother than expected, but it still made me nauseous. I could hear the boys talking around me the entire ride, but I couldn't see them or anything because my eyes were squeezed tightly shut.

I could feel the car slowing down and knew we were about to stop. I opened my eyes warily. All five boys were staring at me with worried expressions. My face burned. "I j-just... Don't like moving things much..." I muttered as explanation. Zayn chuckled.

Then the door swung open, and Niall got out, reaching in to help me out.

I didn't have time to get a good look at the place in front of me; all I saw were flashing lights, a mob of people, and cameras all over the place. I let out an involuntary cry and felt Niall's arm wrap around my waist as Lou's wrapped gently around my shoulder's and they began pushing through the crowd. I tried to keep my head down so no one would see me or touch me, but I was jostled so hard I ended up crying out again. When we finally reached the door and were able to go inside, I bit my lip to keep from sobbing on the spot.

Lou unwound his arm from my shoulders, but Niall kept his around my waist. "Are you claustrophobic?" He asked. I just nodded and bit my lip harder.

"Cassie! Niall!" I heard Louis shout across the room, and cringed, but looked up. Lou, Zayn, Harry, and Liam were all already seated in a booth on the other side of the room. Niall led me over, and we sat next to Zayn. Lou was across from me. There were long, thick pieces of plastic with paper inside on the table. Zayn, Harry, Niall, and Liam were looking at them intently, but Louis was looking at me.

"I have two things to say." He announced loudly. "First of all, Cassie," He addressed me, "I'm not an expert on fashion, but why are you wearing combat boots with a dress?"

I could feel my cheeks filling with color. "These are the only shoes I have." I mumbled.

Lou nodded. "Thought so. Which is why Danielle and Eleanor are taking you shopping tomorrow." He grinned at me. "Second matter of business," He turned to the rest of the boys. "Cassie has never been out to eat before, and I'm quite positive that she has no clue whatsoever what she's doing. I would help her, but I'm too hungry. So help her." He turned his face to one of the plastic things on the table. Zayn glared at him, but Louis either ignored him or didn't notice.

My eyebrows furrowed. Niall chuckled beside me and handed me one of the plastic things. "Just look over the menu and choose whatever you want to eat." He leaned closer to me and whispered in my ear. "And, for the record, I think the boots with the dress are perfectly fine. You look beautiful with or without them."

I let my hair fall over my face, which I'm sure was even more red than before. Niall just chuckled and turned back to his 'menu'.

Looking at my 'menu', I tried to figure out all the different foods there. The only thing I'd ever eaten was a couple different fruits, a couple different vegetables, and a piece of bread per week. I set the menu down on the table and just stared at it blindly, not really seeing anything. I looked up at Louis, who was smiling at me. "And what would you like to eat?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I've never eaten anything but fruit, vegetables, and bread. I don't know what any of this is." Lou's eyebrows furrowed.

Niall turned to Louis. "I'll order for her." He said, grinning.

Order?

I surpressed a gasp of surprise when a woman in a uniform, holding a pad and pencil, walked up to the table. "What would you like to order?" She asked in a heavy British accent.

The boys all responded with different things that I didn't understand. Niall ordered for me, I assume; I didn't hear because I was too busy trying to figure out what the things the boys had ordered were.

I sat quietly as the boys chatted, and watched as Niall pulled out a... right, a phone. I think it was the new kind, an iPhone, right? I remember. I had seen kids with them all over the school, and I didn't know what it did, but I had wanted one. When I had gone home and asked for one, I woke up the next morning aching so badly I could hardly move. I sighed, softly.

Niall looked at me. "Cassie, what's your phone number?"

"I don't have a phone...?" I said, but it came out as more of a question.

Apparently the other boys had been listening. Zayn's jaw dropped. "You don't have a phone?!" I shook my head.

"How do you live?!" Louis exclaimed dramatically, before shaking his head. "I'll tell Eleanor to make sure she buys you one tomorrow." He shook his head again and grinned at me. "I can't have a little sister without a phone." He cooed. I just stared at him for a moment, confused, the information not really registering yet. Then the lady from earlier came back. Thankfully, I managed not to jump... this time.

"Here you are." She chirped happily, and set plates with all different kinds of food in front of us.

I inspected everyone's plates with narrowed eyes, and they all took turns explaining to me all the main foods that their food was made up of, so that I had a better understanding of what they all were. I inspected my plate last. It looked like two pieces of bread, with something strange in between. Niall chuckled when I asked him what it was. "Cassie, that's chicken."

I looked at him curiously. "The animal?"

He laughed. "Yes, the animal."

My eyebrows furrowed, but I stopped inspecting my food and ate it instead; it tasted wonderful. It was slightly awkward for me, eating in front of the boys, since I had never eaten in front of anyone before in my life, but the awkwardness left the building when I looked over and saw Niall eating. He was eating like he'd never eaten before, whereas my stomach could only take 3/4 of my 'sandwhich', I think was what they had called it. I actually ended up laughing uncontrollably at Niall, which made everyone else laugh, too, including Niall himself. I realized today, for the first time, that it feels really great to laugh, and I'd try to do it a lot more often. It makes me feel great.

After everyone was finished with their food, Lou offered to pay for everything, which made me remember, (quite happily, I might add), that I still had some money that the principal had given me a long time ago 'if I ever needed it'.

After arguing for a while over who got to pay, it was finally decided that Liam would pay, and we got up to leave. Which is when I remembered all the people outside from before. I shrank back when we reached the door, but I noticed that everyone had gone. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Once I finally figured out that I was still tensed and that the boys were waiting for me, I took a deep breath and a tentative step outside. No one bombarded me. I breathed in the fresh night air, before moving forward with the boys to the limo and letting Thomas help me in.

We were in a slightly different seating position this time. Lou and Harry were sitting next to me, I was by the window, Niall was across from me, and Zayn and Liam were sitting next to him. I hid my face and clenched my teeth the entire ride, but, whenever I as much as glanced up, I could see Niall staring at me; I could feel him staring at me even when I looked back down to hide my blushing face.

When we finally arrived, Niall helped me out and we all went into the hotel together. I was confused. Did Liam, Niall, and Zayn live here, also? I felt a small tinge of pride when we reached the elevator and Lou did the same thing I had done earlier that night and I realized that I had figured out, on my own, how to work an elevator.

When we reached the hotel room we were 'temporarily', as Harry had said, staying in, I ignored everyone as soon as I was inside and went straight to my room, locking the door.

Chapter 3

Sighing, I ran my hands through my hair roughly, and glanced around the room. There was a small bed in the middle of the room, covered in blue. Blue sheets, blue pillows, blue blanket... There was a small nightstand next to it... Painted blue. But don't worry, this one is dark blue; not that that makes much of a difference. On the wall opposite the one with the door to the closet, there was a desk. And, on the desk, was a computer. I almost didn't recognize it for what it was, because my school only has really old ones. I noticed a sign of an apple with a bite out of it on the top, and realized that it must have been made by the same company as the iPhones.

I took off the dress Lou had loaned me, and laid it smoothly on the nightstand, proceeding to pull on some black jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt. I didn't bother to put back on my boots or my jacket. I layed back on my bed and stretched, staring at the ceiling, before a knock sounded on the door. Sighing, I got up, unlocked the door, and opened it cautiously... Only to be greeted by Niall's smiling face.

"Lou wants you to come play a game with us." He said.

I nodded and followed him down the hallway, closing my door softly behind me.

The boys were gathered on the floor in a loosely-knit circle, giggling about something. They looked up when we walked in. Niall went to join them while I stood there awkwardly.

Louis patted the spot on the floor beside him. "Come join us, Cassie. We're going to play Truth or Dare." He said, grinning.

I made my way over to the circle and sat cautiously next to him.

"Alright, since Cassie is our guest, and new, we"ll let her start." I looked at him curiously.

"What's Truth or Dare?" I questioned.

Lou grinned. "Right. In Truth or Dare, you pick truth or dare, and if you choose truth, they'll ask you a question and you have to answer truthfully. But if you choose dare, they'll dare you to do something and you have to do it. Got it?"

I nodded slowly. At least I knew what a dare was; I had seen and heard kids daring each other to do wacky things all the time at school.

"So, Cassie." Lou said. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth." I responded automatically, and all the boys groaned.

Liam shook his head. "Typical girl response." My cheeks burned.

"Alright, fine. We'll start off easy." Louis said. "Do you like to eat carrots in your spare time?" He asked, grinning.

I smiled. "Actually, yes. I happen to love carrots, Louis."

He whooped. "Yes! She loves carrots! She's all mine, boys!" He hugged me gently from the side and I giggled.

Zayn chuckled and shook his head. "You can't have her all to yourself, Lou; she's your sister."

Louis pouted while Liam laughed.

Lou shook his head and turned to me. "Now its your turn."

"My turn for what?" I asked, confused.

"You ask one of us truth or dare." He replied.

"Which one?"

He chuckled. "Whichever one you want."

I didn't like being put in the spotlight like this, so I just smiled at Louis. "Pass." I said quietly.

"Aw; come on!" He complained. I just grinned at him. "Fine." He grumbled. "Who wants to go?"

"I will." Harry said, before any of the other boys could speak. "Alright; so Louis, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Louis replied happily.

"Wrong answer!" Harry said. "Truth! LOU, ARE YOU CHEATING ON ME WITH ELEANOR?!" He shouted angrily.

Louis pouted. "Of course not! I would never cheat on you, Haz!" He grinned cheekily.

I looked back and forth between the two of them, confused.

Niall caught my gaze. He just smiled and shook his head. 'They're delusional', he mouthed to me. I giggled.

Louis turned on Niall next. "Niall, truth or dare."

"Dare."

"I dare you to take a bite out of a raw potato." He said happily.

Niall frowned, but went to get one anyway. When he came back in, he was grinning, and actually took a massive bite out of the potato. I ducked my head and gagged. The other boys just laughed and cheered him on.

"I change my dare!" Louis shouted. "Eat the whole potato!" All the boys shouted and cheered him on. I couldn't look up; I'd get sick.

Finally, the potato was gone and Niall was back to sitting in the circle.

After a while of playing the game, the boys got bored.

"What time is it?" Zayn yawned.

"About midnight." Liam replied.

"Gah! I'm going home."

"I'm going, too."

"GOOD-NIGHT, CASSIE!" They both shouted at the same time.

I laughed, waving at them.

Louis turned to Niall and pouted. "Are you going to leave us, too, Nialler?"

Niall grinned and shook his head.

Harry cheered. "Movie time!" He scrambled up from his sitting position and went over to a bookshelf filled with movies. He shuffled through them for a while, before turning to me. "Cassie, do you have any favorite movies?"

My head turned to the side. "I've never seen a movie before."

Harry's jaw dropped, but he closed it quickly, before an evil smile crossed Louis' mouth. "Harry, put in a scary movie."

I raised an eyebrow, and looked at Louis.

"What?" He smirked. "Afraid of scary movies?"

I shrugged. "I wouldn't know, seeing as I've never seen one."

"THE MOVIE'S STARTING!" Harry shouted, after messing around with something that looked like an oversized computer in the middle of the room. He threw himself on Louis, who was sitting on the couch, and grinned cheekily at him.

"Everyone on the couch!" Louis shouted. I sighed, but dragged myself off the floor and sat down on the couch next to Louis, poking him in the side. The couch groaned as Niall threw himself down next to me. I giggled.

I wasn't really paying attention to whatever movie was playing; Niall was playing with my hair, and it was immensely distracting. I was glad that Lou had turned the lights off, so Niall couldn't see that my face was completely red. Not just my cheeks this time; my entire face. A couple hours later, the movie still hadn't ended and all three boys were snoring. Niall had fallen asleep on my shoulder, and Harry and Louis had fallen asleep on each other. When the movie ended, the screen went blank, and I sat there awkwardly for a moment, before my eyes grew heavy. Unconsciously, I cuddled up to Niall. The last thing I felt before drifting off into unconsciousness was Niall's arms wrapping around me tightly.

I woke up the next morning to the faint glimmer of light beyond my eyelids. Groaning softly, I tried three times before finally managing to get my eyes open. Confused, I blinked, looking around the room, trying to remember where I was. There was a dark bookshelf on one side of the room, a 'television', I think it was called, on the other, and a door on the opposite side of the room. I peered over the top of the couch I was lying on. There was another door on the other side of the room. The walls were painted a nice, chocolate brown, as were the carpets.

Sleepily, I rolled over and tried to fall back asleep, but I rolled onto something soft. I looked up sharply, gasping. I was lying on Niall's stomach. His arms were around me, (how had I not noticed that when I woke?), and he was wide awake, his blue eyes twinkling down at me, smiling. I was too tired to think straight, so I ended up staring at him stupidly for a moment, before cuddling up to his chest again. He chuckled, and his arms tightened around me, pulling me closer to him. I closed my eyes and fell asleep again...

Only to be awoken in what felt like only a minute later. I woke my with my face buried in something warm. Although I had no clue what it was, it was comfortable, so I sleepily pulled myself closer to it. I heard snickers from somewhere nearby, groaning as my sleep was interrupted. I lifted my head slightly, not wanting to emerge from the warm thing I was resting on. I saw Lou and Zayn kneeling at the edge of the couch across from me, holding their phones in front of them, smirking... and there was the precise moment when I realized that the warm thing I was lying on was Niall's chest, and that Harry and Louis were taking pictures. Lou snickered again. I gasped and sat up.

"Erm; I'm s-sorry." I said, blushing intently and starting to pull away from him, but he pulled me back.

"Stay." He whined, pouting. I bit my lip, but let him pull me back to his chest. Harry laughed and pocketed his phone, smirking at us.

"Aw!" Lou cooed. "You two are so cute!" He grinned.

I ducked my head into Niall's chest again to hide my blushing face; I felt his arms tighten around me, if that were even possible. Harry wrinkled his nose. "I can't watch this anymore. Would you care to join me for tea, Louis?"

"Why, of course, Haz. It would be my honor." Harry bowed to him goofily and they both bolted into the kitchen, I guessed.

"Erm; I'm sorry, Niall. I didn't mean to-"

He cut me off. "It's not problem." He smiled at me.

Blushing again, I ducked my head.

"NIALLER!" Lou shouted from the kitchen. "GET IN HERE IF YOU WANT ANY FOOD!"

"Erm; sorry." I said, moving to get away from him for the third time that morning. He held me firmly in place and a sly grin found its way onto his face. I eyed him suspiciously and shrieked when he picked me up quickly and carried me bridal style to the kitchen. "Niall, put me down!" I shouted, laughing.

"No!" He shouted, grinning.

I giggled and succumbed to his warm chest. Snuggling into him, I decided to stay there. Reaching the kitchen, Niall loosened his grip and went to place me gently in a chair. I pouted at him, and he laughed. I heard Harry gag from the corner of the room, but Louis didn't seem to have heard him.

"Niall!" He shouted, complaining. "We're completely out of food!"

Niall glared at him. "I was promised food!" He shouted.

Lou held his hands up in defense. "Food was the only excuse I could use to get you out of there..." He shook his head. "And even with the pretense of food, you brought her with you." He leaned into Harry, and grasped his chest dramatically. "What are we going to do with him?!"

Luckily, no one noticed me still sitting in the kitchen chair, red as a tomato. I got up and tried to make a quiet exit...

"Where do you think you're going, Cassie?" Harry said.

Caught. "Um; to my room..." I said cautiously.

Lou wagged a finger at me, ignoring my last words. "You're just as much at fault as Niall is, young lady!" I nervously shuffled from foot to foot, bracing myself for the beating that was coming next, but Louis just laughed. "I'm only joking, Cassie!" He said.

I bit my lip. Maybe it was just my parents that wanted to beat me to death.

Suddenly the door in the main room slammed open. "HAZ? LOU?" Shouted a voice. Zayn. He stormed into the kitchen and attacked me with a hug. I managed to hold in a gasp, but, luckily, he let go quickly and grinned at me. I sucked in the pain and smiled back at him. Liam came in after Zayn, chuckling. He gave me a gentle hug and smiled. "Good morning, Cassie." He whispered in my ear.

"Morning, Liam." I responded, smiling back at him.

"WE'RE GOING GROCERY SHOPPING TODAY!" I heard Louis exclaim, just as the door opened again. This time, it was just a soft click. "Liam?" I heard a small voice chirp. Liam grinned and ran off in the direction of the voice. I stared after him curiously.

Niall caught my gaze and rolled his eyes. "Danielle, Liam's girlfriend."

"Lou?" I heard another voice call. I raised my eyebrow at Niall.

"Eleanor, Louis' girlfriend." He said, chuckling softly.

I smiled as Louis dashed off into the main room.

I shrugged and followed him. Liam and a girl with long, brown, curly hair were sitting on the couch, talking. I assumed that was Danielle. I turned to Louis. He was currently hugging a girl with long, wavy hair. I assumed that was Eleanor.

I lowered my head, and tried to sink back into the kitchen, but felt Niall's arms wrap around my waist from behind and rested his head on my shoulder.

I squirmed, whining, "Let me go, Niall."

"Nope." He said, popping the 'p'.

I squirmed again, turning around as much as I could, and pouted at him. "Please?"

He bit his lip, staring at me for a moment, then shook his head slowly. "No..." He said weakly, then firmly, shaking his head quickly. "No." I sighed. "What's the problem anyway?" He asked.

I just twisted to face him again. "Didn't Lou say I was supposed to spend the day with them?" I asked curiously.

He nodded. "Yeah; why?"

I sighed again.

"Do you not like them? You haven't even met them yet...?" He said, confused.

"No; they're just... really pretty, and I really wouldn't to bother them..." I mumbled, not making any sense, and trailed off.

Niall scowled. "Why? You're a lot more beautiful than they are..." He mumbled.

I shook my head forcefully.

"CASSIE! STOP FLIRTING WITH NIALL AND COME MEET ELEANOR AND DANIELLE!" Louis shouted. Eleanor slapped his arm and whispered something furiously to him. He looked guilty.

Face red, I finally managed to untangle myself from Niall and move slowly over to where Louis was, keeping my face ducked.

Lou just grinned at me as Danielle and Liam joined them. "Cassie, this is Eleanor; Eleanor, this is Cassie." He said, gesturing to the pretty girl he was standing with. She smiled excitedly at me.

"We're going to have tons of fun today!" I found myself smiling back at her; she already seemed likable.

"Cassie, this is Danielle; Danielle, this is Cassie." Liam said, interrupting my thoughts about Eleanor.

Danielle flashed me a smile. "Happy to meet you, Cassie!" She said sweetly. I smiled back at her; she was just like Liam.

Maybe our 'girls' day' won't be so bad...

Chapter 4

The first thing I learned about Eleanor and Danielle is that they were almost EXACTLY like their boyfriends… Danielle was super sweet and kind, like Liam, and Eleanor was… Eleanor. She was so much like Louis it was adorable! She was full of energy and talked too much and so fast that it was hard to keep up with her, but she didn't seem to mind if people couldn't do so. Her and Lou really were a perfect couple. The same can be said for Danielle and Liam. Needless to say, I loved Danielle and Eleanor already.

When I had finally managed to get out of the main room and into mine to get ready for the day, I sank back against the door and sighed, a small smile gracing my face. This morning alone had been so eventful, it was confusing.

This time I grabbed a short-sleeved black shirt instead of a long-sleeved one, and jeans. Black, of course. I took a quick shower, not taking as much time as I had the night before, and slipped my clothes on quickly. I was a bit nervous about wearing a short-sleeved shirt, because, a few years ago, I used to cut my arms with a knife that wasn't too hard to steal from my parents at night; they never noticed. It, the pain, was always what helped me to fall asleep every night. I don't cut myself anymore, but the scars are still there, and they're highly visible, not to mention they still hurt. I figured I could just wear my jacket, though, because England is cold, right? It wouldn't look weird for me to wear a jacket.

I winced as I shoved my arms into my jacket. The scars may not be open and bleeding anymore, but they definitely did still hurt. Slipping my feet into the combat boots, I frowned at my reflection in the mirror, wondering if anyone had noticed my bruised eye before. If they had, no one had mentioned it… I shook my head, trying not to think about what had happened to my eye. Shivering, I made my way out of the room and into the hallway the same way as I had the night before.

I jumped when I entered the hallway. Danielle and Eleanor were standing outside my door with huge, goofy grins on their faces. Danielle spoke first. "Sorry," she said, though she looked too excited for me to tell if she really meant it or not. "we didn't mean to scare you."

Eleanor frowned at me. "That's what you're wearing?"

I shifted uncomfortably to my other foot. "This is all I have…" I mumbled.

She turned her head to the side. "At least take your jacket off. It won't be as cold as usual today." I took a step backward when she reached for the sleeve of my jacket.

"Erm; I get cold easily."

Danielle frowned at me, but Eleanor just shrugged, her hand dropping back to her side, and went back to grinning goofily. "Let's go before the boys start asking to come along." She laughs, grabbing each of our arms and dragging us into the main room. I clenched my teeth to keep from hissing in pain at her grip, but forced myself to breath through it. Finally, she let us both go when we reached the main room. Danielle looked at me curiously.

I just shrugged slightly and gave her a small smile.

Grabbing a small bag, Eleanor went over to Louis, kissed him softly on the cheek, saying, well, shouting was a better word, "We're leaving now! Bye!"

I didn't see whether Danielle gave Liam a good-bye or not; Eleanor shoved me out the door as soon as she parted from Lou, who was whining.

Once we were all out of the hotel, Eleanor smiled happily at me. "Lou says you don't have a phone?" She questions, raising her eyebrow. I just shake my head. She claps her hands together and smiles. "Phone shopping is my favorite kind of shopping!" She sighs happily.

Danielle shakes her head. "She's obsessed with technology." She says to me. I just smile. "Eleanor," Danielle addressed her directly, "where do we go to get her started on a phone service?"

Eleanor's eyebrows furrowed for a moment. "Well, what service should we get her?"

"Vodafone is what I have." Danielle offered.

Eleanor nodded slowly. "That will have to do." She grasps my hand and begins to drag me along the sidewalk, but suddenly stops. "Right! I almost forgot." She pulls out two pairs of darkly tinted glasses that I had seen kids around school wear. Placing one over her own eyes, she handed one to me. I looked at her curiously. "It's so no one recognizes us." She said matter-of-factly. I was still confused, but I took the glasses from her and put them over my eyes awkwardly. I almost gasped at what they did to my sight. Everything was darker, and suddenly the sun didn't seem as bright as it had seemed before.

I hadn't noticed that Eleanor had begun dragging me along again, and that Danielle had also put on a pair of dark glasses. I supposed my feet were moving of their own accord; they did that sometimes. The only thing I had known about dark glasses before was that you couldn't see the wearer's eyes, because the glasses were so dark. I hadn't known that the glasses would make everything out of them seem dark for the wearer's eyes, but, then again, I'd never worn them before. After the phone incident, I had never asked my parents for anything else again. I supposed Eleanor hadn't been able to see my eyes well enough to know that I wasn't paying attention, because she was rambling on about phones. "… You could choose between different colors, of course, but if you want a case, that won't really matter, because the color will be covered, anyway. Of course, we'll get you an iPhone, because they're only the best. The question is, do you want black or white? I mean, white is great and all, but I prefer black. I mean, I know white is the color that defines everything pure and whatever, but, personally, I like darker colors better. But my opinion doesn't really matter. The phone, after all, is for you, not me. That would be silly, since I already have a phone." I was trying to keep up with what she was saying and find an opening to answer her prolonged question, when I heard Danielle's whispered voice in my ear cut into Eleanor's constant chatter.

"Don't worry; she's not always like this. I mean, she is, normally, when she first meets a person, but she sobers up and acts like a normal human being after a while." She laughed softly, and I found myself laughing quietly with her.

"I don't mind too much; as long as she's happy." I responded, smiling.

Eleanor stopped walking, turning back to glare at Eleanor. "I do not talk THAT much. You don't have to bring it up all the time." She said, snapping at her playfully, but I could see a glint of amusement in her eyes.

Danielle held up her hands in fake surrender, grinning.

Eleanor shook her head, but a small smile crept its way onto her face. I waited patiently for her to pull me along behind her again, but she didn't seem to be showing any signs of moving again. I was just about to question this, when she opened the door of a small shop, I supposed it was, on the side of the street. I looked up at the sign before she pulled me in. There was an small white circle with an even smaller red raindrop-shape inside it. Next to the little picture was a sign that said Vodafone. That was all I saw before I was dragged into the little store. I checked my surroundings. There was plush white carpeting on the ground, and small counters on three sides of the room, holding small things I assumed were phones. Against the other wall were desks. At least, I assumed they were desks. A man in uniform came up to us and smiled at Eleanor. "May I help you?"

"Erm; yes; I think." She said, looking confused for a moment.

Danielle chuckled softly under her breath and turned to smile at the man. He returned it. "We'd like to, ah, make an account for our friend, and get her a phone." She said.

The man nodded, and led Danielle to one of the desks on the opposite side of the wall. I turned to follow, but Eleanor caught my arm. "She's just going to fill out information and all the other boring stuff." She rolled her eyes, then smiled. "Let's do the fun stuff, and teach you how to use an iPhone!" She said, brightly. I just nodded, slightly confused. She led me over to a counter with what I knew were iPhones on it. "Which one would you like?" She asked. "Black or white?"

I pondered it for a moment, then responded, surely, "White."

Eleanor wrinkled her nose, but went to grab the white one anyway. She was about to open her mouth, I assumed to explain the workings of the phone to me, when Danielle called my name. I smiled at Eleanor and went over to Danielle.

"What's your middle name?" She asked.

I shuffled my weight from foot to foot uncomfortably. "Marie." I responded. The man, who I had just noticed standing on the other side of the desk, nodded, and scratched something down on a sheet of paper. He turned to me.

"What are the names of your parents?" He asked.

"Erm." I turned to Danielle questioningly.

"Mark and Johanna Tomlinson." She answered the man's question with a smile. He looked confused, but scratched something down anyway. He continued to ask Danielle questions, to which she responded quickly. I didn't listen much, nor did I leave to go find Eleanor. She was playing happily on one of the iPhones. Before I knew it, I was walking out of the phone shop with a phone of my own.

"Alright!" Eleanor said. "We'll go Monmouth Coffee and have a drink while explaining the details of the complex cell phone world to Cassie." She said, grinning at me.

Although I was confused as to what Monmouth Coffee was, I just nodded and followed Eleanor as we walked, (quite a bit, I might add), to a little coffee shop and took a seat at the back. I didn't look around much this time; I was still too busy staring at my new phone. And yet I hadn't even figured out how to turn it on.

I'm not going to explain to you the excruciatingly painful task of leaning how to use a phone. It was horrid, but insightful. Also, while we were at the coffee shop, Eleanor and Danielle literally filled me in on EVERYTHING I needed to know about… Well, everything. I felt like a new person. Like I knew everything, and could maybe start a new life for myself from scratch. At least, that's what Danielle and Eleanor encouraged me to believe. And I did. I believed it completely.

We went to a few other shops after that. Clothing shops, this time. Although I tried to refuse, Eleanor and Danielle ended up buying me lots of clothes and shoes. Unfortunately, I couldn't talk them out of buying me dresses, short-sleeved shirts, and no-sleeved shirts. But I was able to convince them that I didn't need jewelry. Only a few shops later, it was dark and we began to head home. My feet ached from walking all day, and, although there were few bags, because I had insisted on stuffing everything into three and throwing away the others, the bags were immensely heavy. If you hadn't guessed, we were each carrying one bag.

When we finally reached the hotel, I was feeling that I might weep with happiness. Once we reached the room, I was sure that I would. But I didn't. The boys were all staring at us, mouths open.

Lou spoke first. "Only three bags? Eleanor, I expect you to have made her buy whole stores."

Eleanor scowled. "She insisted on stuffing everything into three. And, in my defense, I have never shopped with someone so against shopping." She whined. "She didn't want anything." She grinned at me and threw an arm around my shoulder. "I love her!" Danielle laughed, then sighed.

"I want to go home; I'm tired." She whined.

"Take me with you." Eleanor agreed.

Liam and Lou groaned. "No, you both can stay here tonight. Niall, Zayn, and I are, also." Liam said.

Eleanor and Danielle sighed in unison. "Fine." Eleanor groaned, and threw herself down on the couch beside Louis, dropping the bag unceremoniously on the floor. I went to grab it, but Danielle beat me to it. She grinned at me.

"Come on; let's go put everything away."

I just shrugged, and we lugged the three bags to my room. The boys were all talking and laughing too loudly now to notice.

Dumping the contents of our bags into the middle of the bed, we sorted everything into the huge closet, collapsing on the bed when we finished. Danielle glared at the door. "It wouldn't have mattered if you had had no clothes at all; Eleanor should NOT have gotten you that many." She groaned and rolled over, facing me. I smiled at her, and she grinned. "What are you most excited about having?" She asked.

"The phone." I responded immediately.

She chuckled. "Just like Eleanor; you're a technology lover!"

I giggled and pulled out my phone, admiring it. My Contacts list was simple: the boys, Danielle, Eleanor, along with my new family. It was good enough for me. Eleanor and Danielle had convinced me to take a picture of them for my wallpaper. I must admit, they both looked beautiful, but I think the fact that I was in it ruined the picture immensely. I was barely even smiling, though you could see that I was happy from my eyes; they were shining. Danielle and Eleanor had even made me a Twitter and Facebook account. Twitter was too crazy for me, though. Everything went too fast and some people were so rude. Although, I did already have 22k followers, but that was due to the fact that Eleanor had gotten the boys to follow me. I was only following the boys, Eleanor, and Danielle.

"Let's go get dinner." Danielle said, pulling me out of my thoughts and phone inspection, and got up to stretch. I nodded, smiled, and followed her out of the room and into the main one. Today had been a great day; it had been even better than I had predicted.

Chapter 5

Danielle and I walked into chaos in the main room. Eleanor and Louis were nowhere to be seen, Zayn and Harry were engaged in some kind of fight about movies, or something, Liam was trying to calm them down, and Niall was whining loudly from the kitchen about the lack of food in the house. Everything quieted when we walked in.

Danielle eyed Liam suspiciously. "Where are Lou and Eleanor?"

"In Louis' room!" Harry responded, gagging.

She wrinkled her nose and changed the subject. "What are they arguing about?" She gestured to Harry and Zayn.

Liam rolled his eyes. "Zayn says Repulsion is the best horror movie, while Harry just has to disagree, with the thought that Dead Man's Shoes is the best horror movie." He shook his head.

Danielle glared at them. "Knock it off; it's annoying." They protested, and she joined Liam in lecturing them.

Shaking my head, I made my way to the kitchen, where Niall had gone back into once the arguing had started again. He was digging through cupboards, frustrated, but looked up when I walked in, and smiled at me.

"Hey, Cassie."

I waved slightly. "Looking for something?"

He just scowled. "Everything we bought today requires cooking and I'm too lazy to cook right now."

My head turned to the side. "Well, I would help you, but I don't know how to cook."

He shook his head, and shouted, "DANIELLE!"

Instead of shouting back, like any of the boys would have done, she came into the kitchen to see what he wanted for herself, like a civilized person. "What, Niall?"

He just pouted at her.

She scowled, but sighed. "Fine..."

I raised an eyebrow at her. She shook her head. "He's like a baby; if you don't feed him every two hours, he will go berserk and rip you to pieces."

Niall frowned at her, his face red. "Not true."

She laughed and nodded. "You know very well that it's true. Do you remember the last time you went half a day without eating? That was-"

"Don't bring it up again, Danielle!" Niall whined, interrupting her; his face bright red.

Danielle went to grab ingredients for what I now know is spaghetti, laughing, when Louis suddenly barged in the room and tackled me in a hug. I laughed at him, hugging back, before he pulled away and grinned at me. "Did you get your new phone?!"

I nodded. He looked at me seriously, before asking, "Do you know how to use it?"

I just laughed again and nodded.

Lou smiled. "Good!" and took my phone from me, as I had been holding it.

I sighed and shook my head.

"Cassie; help me?" Danielle called, while Louis went and grabbed a seat next to Niall at the kitchen table, focused on my phone.

Sighing again, I went over to Danielle. "I don't know how to cook."

She just smiled. "Well, this would be the perfect opportunity to teach you then." She said, smiling brightly.

"Alright; what would you like me to do?"

She handed me a pack of what looked like long, thin, sticks. I may know what things are now, but I'm still not all too sure what everything looks like...

"Noodles." Danielle said, nodding at the package I was holding, as if she could sense my confusion.

"Okay..." I nodded my head slowly. "And what do I do with it?"

"Get a pot, fill it with water, put it on the stove, turn the stove on, wait 'till the water is boiling, then pour the uncooked noodles in the pot and stir them occasionally until they're tender."

I just stared at her blankly. She sighed and took the pack of uncooked noodles from me, smiling. "How about you go find something that doesn't need to be cooked for Niall to eat? He doesn't normally look thoroughly."

I nodded slightly, still dazed from Danielle's impossible-sounding instructions, but went through cabinets and what-not, searching for something Niall could eat. Laughing, I unearthed a bag of 'crisps', is what I think they called them, and plopped them down in front of Niall.

He grinned up at me before opening the bag.

Lou pouted, "I'm hungry, too." Just then, before I could respond, Eleanor walked in and threw a bag of carrots at him, He grinned at her. "Never mind!" He shouted, still grinning.

I just shrugged and went into the main room when Eleanor sat down, engaging Louis and Niall in conversation.

Harry, Zayn, and Liam were on the couch watching a movie. This was slightly difficult for me to determine at first glance, seeing as THE LIGHTS WERE OFF.

Liam looked back at me when I walked in, and smiled. "Come join us, Cassie. We're just watching a movie." Figuring that it was better than doing nothing, I agreed easily, joining them, sitting with my back against the couch.

Before I had a chance to ask what movie they were watching, I heard Danielle's voice: "Hey, guys; what are we watching?" She asked, plopping down on the floor beside me, her back against Liam's legs.

I stared at her, confused. "What?" She asked, looking back at me.

"I thought you were cooking...?" I responded curiously.

She laughed. "I am cooking; it just doesn't require full attention. When cooking some things, you can go do other things while the food, well, cooks." She said, before turning her head back to the movie. I had yet to figure out what movie it was.

I was about to ask Liam, eyes on the screen, when I saw someone's head being chopped off, and heard an ear-piercing scream. Harry laughed when I jumped. I felt sick.

Deciding I didn't want to watch whatever they were watching, I dragged myself off the ground and went back into the kitchen. Eleanor and Niall were gathered around Lou, laughing at something on my phone, which he was holding. Wait... My phone!

"Lou, can I please have my phone back now?" I asked, scowling slightly.

Louis' head jerked up. "This phone?" He asked stupidly, holding up my phone.

I sighed, feeling as if I was talking to a child. "Yes, Louis; that phone."

He smirked maliciously. "Why, of course you can have your phone back, love."

I narrowed my eyes at him, taking the phone from his outstretched hand cautiously. But, before I could ask what he had done to my phone, Danielle burst into the kitchen, heading straight to the stove. "Spaghetti's almost ready." She informed; Niall whooped.

Taking this as a chance to see what Louis had done to my phone, I sneaked out of the room quietly and into the main room. I winced, hearing another shattering scream. Rushing to my room, I shut and locked the door behind me.

Brows furrowed, I unlocked my phone and checked my contacts first. Nothing different there, other than the fact that 'Louis Tomlinson' was now 'Sexy Tommo'. I rolled my eyes at that. Were all boys so childish? I changed the name back to 'Louis Tomlinson' and, clicking out of my contacts, I checked Facebook next. Nothing out of order there, so I went to Twitter. Once I got over the fact that I had about a million more followers than I'd had the last time I had checked, which had not been too long ago, I went to my tweets, curious; it said I had tweeted once, yet I was positive that I had not yet tweeted. Cue the horrible moment when I finally figure out the horrible deed Lou had done to my new cell phone.

' Cassie_Tomlinson: Louis_Tomlinson is the best brother ever and NiallOfficial is a sexy beast.'

The anger and humiliation didn't seep in until I checked the thousands of replies:

' _: Louis_Tomlinson stop hacking your poor little sister, Lou.'

I won't mention the rest because I wouldn't want to scar you innocent people. Let's just say... I'm now disliked by the majority of the Twitter population. I'm used to being disliked, of course, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. I do have feelings, you know. Even though no one cares about them.

Exactly three seconds later, I had made my decision.

Putting on a calm expression, I walked out into the main room, where the lights were now on, the TeleVision was off, and everyone was eating spaghetti and laughing loudly at something.

Louis jumped when I came in, and everyone quieted.

He was looking at me with wide, pleading eyes. "I'm so sorry, Cassie! I wasn't thinking; I shouldn't have done that. Please forgive me?" My heart clenched as he stuck out his bottom lip in an adorable pout, and I was about to give in when I caught Eleanor's eye behind him. She shook her head at me, mouthing 'No.'

I frowned at Louis, trying not to smirk at his expression. "No; I don't think I will." I retorted, before going to sit next to Niall, who was leaning against the couch.

Everyone but Eleanor and Danielle gaped at me. Danielle shook her head in amusement and Eleanor grinned, giving me two thumbs-up.

Lou's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. I tried not to laugh; it was too hilarious, though, and a small giggle involuntarily escaped my lips.

That just caused more confusion among the boys.

Everything was silent for a moment, then Louis finally spoke up. "Eleanor, Danielle," he addressed his and Liam's girlfriends. "What have you done to the poor creature? She left an innocent seven-teen year old girl and came back-" he stuttered for a moment before settling on a word. "Different." He finally said, satisfied.

I sighed, before mumbling, "I'm not different, I'm just a LITTLE less shy..."

"Yes!" Lou whooped, fist pumping the air. "Now she'll be more fun!" He grinned at me; I smiled shyly back at him.

The grin disappeared faster than it had appeared, replaced instead by a horrified look. "Do you still love carrots, Cassie?" He shouted, looking scared and worried, as if I had just told him that I hated puppies, or that I ripped the wings off of butterflies for a living.

I giggled slightly. "Of course I still love carrots, Lou!" I said, smiling.

He grinned lazily before plopping back down on the couch next to Eleanor, saying "Good," and returning to his spaghetti.

As Danielle went to get me spaghetti, I gazed around at my new friends with a lazy grin much like Louis' on my face.

There was no more thinking that maybe my life would be different, better, now. I just knew it would be.

Chapter 6

"We're on a plane to the States tonight for the tour. The bus is already there."

I looked at Liam curiously. "Where is the first location?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but Lou interrupted. "No one cares, Liam." He whined; Liam rolled his eyes.

I just shrugged. I didn't really care all too much about where we were going; it's not like the specific place would affect me all too much. All I knew was that we were going back to America for a while for their tour, and that was all I needed to know to be happy.

Right now we were all gathered in the main room eating dinner. Niall, Liam, and I were on the couch while Zayn, Louis, Liam, Danielle, and Eleanor were gathered on the floor. Sighing contentedly, I snuggled closer into Niall's side. Now, before you freak out on me or whatever, I must tell you that two days ago, Niall stood on the couch in front of everyone, including Danielle and Eleanor, and announced me his 'official cuddle buddy'. I would have been completely embarrassed by that, but I was trying to get over how weird it was. The embarrassment didn't seep in until later that night, while I was trying to fall asleep. Not that I'm complaining or anything. Niall was like a large, warm, teddy bear... That sounded weird. I've been around Eleanor too much lately.

Let me fill you in on all the unimportant details: I've been here for almost one week, (exactly five days), and, I guess, using percentages, I could say that I've come, at most, 2% out of my shy shell each day. And, by that, I mean, my face wasn't always completely red when Niall would sit down next to me, throw his arms around me, and pull me closer to him. As you might have guessed by now, I love it when he does that. But that doesn't mean it doesn't embarrass me.

Liam looked around at all of us. "What're you just sitting there for? Go pack!"

They all grumbled and groaned, but complied. I just sat there awkwardly. Liam raised his eyebrows at me. "Gonna pack?" He asked, nodding in the general direction of my temporary room.

I shrugged, then pouted. "I don't feel like it."

He raised an eyebrow; I just grinned at him.

Liam sighed. "I'm not packing for you."

I scowled and shrugged. "I'll just get Danielle and Eleanor." I raised my voice when saying their names, "to do it for me."

Two muffled, "No!"'s sounded from the other rooms.

I scowled again. "Please?" I added, hearing Lou's chuckling as Danielle came into the room and frowned at me.

"We'll help you pack, but we won't do it for you." She warned.

"Speak for yourself!" Eleanor shouted before coming into the room herself.

I sighed, giving in. "I guess help is better than doing it on my own..." I got up reluctantly and followed Danielle, who was already making her way toward my room. Eleanor grumbled, but followed me anyway.

Instead of gathering my bag and stuffing clothes into it, which Danielle immediately began to do, I plopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling, arms behind my head. Eleanor plopped down next to me. She sighed, turned to me, and pouted. "You guys are going to be gone for six months." I just nodded; she hit me with a pillow. "We're gonna miss you!" She scowled when I dodged the pillow, laughing.

Danielle joined us on the bed. "Promise to call or text every day?" she asked, looking at me.

"Of course." I responded.

Eleanor smirked. "Good. We had to threaten the boys into promising." Danielle laughed, dragging us both up my our arms.

"Now help me pack!"

I sighed as I finally sank down into my comfortable seat on my second plane ride. I was next to Lou; behind us were Niall and Liam, and in front of us were Harry and Zayn. The boys were playing some game, but it hurt my brain to think about how they did it when they were separated by seats, so I just ignored them.

In all honesty, I was scared, since the first time I had ridden a plane, I'd been asleep the whole ride. This time, though, I had five boys keeping me awake for now, so I didn't know what to expect besides taking off.

I definitely felt it this time when we left the ground. Shockwaves pulsed in my stomach, immediately making me sick. The boys stopped shouting and looked at me worriedly.

"Are you alright, Cassie?" Louis asked. It was then that I realized I was bent over in my seat, fists clenched, and eyes squeezed shut.

"Cassie?"

Right; I hadn't answered him.

I was steeling myself to force my eyes open and answer Lou, when the pressure on my stomach suddenly disappeared. I opened my eyes and sat up, blinking.

"Cassie?" This time it was Niall. I turned my head to face him. The worry in his piercing blue eyes was undeniable and absolutely adorable.

I smiled at Niall before turning to Louis, still smiling. "I'm alright, Lou; don't worry about me." Louis smiled at me, before returning to his loud conversation with the boys.

"Cassie?" An Irish accent said again. I looked behind me. Niall was staring at me, eyebrows lifted, lips pursed in worry. "Are you sure you're alright?" He asked, obviously concerned. Why would he be concerned? Confused, I looked around at the other boys. They were fine. Why was Niall concerned? I stopped wondering when I heard my name in an Irish accent once again; this time more worried. Turning back to Niall, I smiled at him.

"I'm alright." I said softly.

"Alright." He smiled warily back at me.

Liam leaned forward in his seat and whispered in my ear. "Try to sleep. It will help."

I smiled gratefully at him before taking his advice.

I fell asleep almost instantly.

When I awoke next, I wasn't in the plane anymore; I was lying down in the backseat of a car. Confused, I blinked before I found the reason I had woken. Niall was shaking me gently. He gave me a brilliant smile when my eyes landed on him. I managed a sleepy smile back. He chuckled lightly at me.

"Time to wake up, Cassie." He said softly. "We have to get inside the bus and let you choose your bunk before it's time for our first concert here in America!" I could tell my the look on his face that he was excited.

I smiled at him. "You were waiting for me?" I asked, confused.

He looked at me curiously for a moment. "Of course, Cassie. We wouldn't really go anywhere or anything without you..."

I frowned, but accepted his offered hand, letting him help me out of the car. Immediately, I cringed, expecting to see tons of fans and flashing lights, as I had seen the night we went out for Nandos, but they never came. Sighing in relief, I followed Niall, my head down, as he led me by hand to what I assumed was the tour bus. As soon as we entered, Lou immediately grasped my arm and dragged me into a room. I looked up. There were three bunk beds.

"Alright; you can choose whichever bunk you want, because, even though we've already chosen for ourselves, we'll give it up for you. Right, boys?" He asked, glaring at Zayn and Harry. They glared back at him, but put on false smiles and nodded when I looked in their direction.

While Lou was lecturing Zayn and Harry on the importance of sharing, I leaned over and whispered in Niall's ear. "Which bed is Lou's?" I could hear Liam chuckling quietly behind me as Niall grinned and pointed at a top bunk right next to the only window on the bus.

Reaching over the small space, I tapped Louis' shoulder, and he jumped, swirling around maniacally, before he saw that it was only me, and smiled. "Which bunk do you want, Cassie?" Harry and Zayn shared scared looks.

Smiling at Lou, I pointed to his bunk, saying, "That one." Zayn and Harry let out breaths of relief before laughing with Liam and Niall. Louis looked over to the bunk I was pointing at, and his smile faded.

"B-but that's-" He sputtered.

Harry clapped him on the back, managing a "You said she could have any bunk she wanted, mate!", before he began laughing hysterically again.

Lou grumbled unintelligently to himself for a moment, before muttering, "Fine,", taking my bags from me, and placing them irritably on his old bed, before throwing his stuff onto the one below it.

Liam clapped. "Well! It's about time for our concert, so we must be on our way!"

One by one, they all lined up to give me good-bye hugs, Niall last. He held me for a bit longer than necessary, in my opinion, but who was I to complain?

After the boys had left, I climbed up onto my bed, sighing. What would I do now that the boys weren't there to keep me company? I began panicking. Would it be like this for the entire tour? Would they have concerts all day, every day; each one leading into another? I shook my head to try and clear my thoughts. Panicking was never good; I had learned that at a very young age.

Furrowing my brows, I decided to turn my thoughts to thinking of things to do to keep me occupied while the boys were gone. Maybe I could take a shower... A pathetic idea, I know, but there was nothing better to do.

Locating the small restroom easily, I stripped of my clothes, not even bothering to look at my reflection in the full-body mirror, knowing that it would only upset me.

I sighed, letting the warm spray of the shower relax me, soothing my earlier worries. It feels like only five minutes later when I come out. I pull on a pair of shorts and an over-sized t-shirt. (I was too tired and moody to think about covering up scars and bruises.)

Coming out of the restroom, (which I preferred over 'loo'), I checked my phone, doing a double-take at the time. When I had gone into my shower, it had been around 7:30 PM. Now it was 9:00 PM. The boys would be back from the concert soon! The thought cheered me so much, I forgot to worry about how I had spent one and a half hours in the shower without even having realized it.

Smiling in a way that I was sure was comical, I unlocked my phone, having seen that I had three missed text messages. Two were from Eleanor; one from Danielle. I checked Danielle's first:

'Danielle Peazer:

'I miss you! :'('

I smiled, responding quickly, before checking Eleanor's messages:

'Eleanor Calder:

'Lou told me you stole his bed. How dare you! :'('

Eleanor Calder:

'Haha; just j/k! Nice one! ;)'

I laughed at Eleanor's messages before responding:

'Eleanor Calder:

'Thanks! ;) I do try my best!'

Giggling at my message, I pulled my hair back into an uncharacteristic messy bun and went back in to the room with the bunk beds. Climbing into mine, I had just gotten comfortable before I noticed something sitting on the bed across from me. A guitar! I've always wanted to learn how to play one!

Scrambling out of my bed, I climbed into the other one and just held it for a while, staring at it in awe, before a voice startled me. "Are you going to stare at it all day or play it?" I jumped, head banging roughly on the ceiling of the bus. I swallowed back the tears that threatened to spill, and turned my head, eyes wide, to see Niall leaning against the doorframe, smirking at me. His face immediately softened into a smile.

"I-I'm sorry..." I stuttered, immediately placing the guitar back on the bed and starting to climb off. Imagine my surprise when Niall was already there, still smiling at me. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Stay." He said.

Cautiously, I sit back on the bed, leaning against the wall. Niall smiled encouragingly at me. "Do you know how to play guitar?" He asked.

I shook my head. Seeing the confused expression on his face, I elaborated quickly. "I've always wanted to; it was just that..." I trailed off. "I wasn't allowed to learn." I finished lamely.

He grinned at me. "I could teach you." He offered.

I shook my head and began to say 'no', but, before I could, the guitar was in my hands, Niall behind me, his arms wrapped around me, hands on my hands. I took in a sharp breath, suddenly overcome with the inability to speak. I could feel his breath on my ear as he was whispering something to me, instructions, I assumed, but I couldn't seem to focus on what he was saying.

The sound of my name in his thick accent sent my sense of hearing spiraling back to Earth.

"Cassie? Cassie, are you even listening to me?" The words should have sounded annoyed, but, coming from Niall, they sounded almost... amused.

I cleared my throat before responding with, "Yes?"

He chuckled. "No; you weren't."

"How would you know?" I turned my head and narrowed my eyes at him, fully intending to say something else, but I wasn't exactly expecting how close we were.

I swallowed thickly, his sharp blue eyes making me forget whatever I had been about to say to him.

Honestly, and I'm ashamed to admit it, but it's true: I didn't know what exactly was happening until it was interrupted.

Zayn's voice reached my ears. "Niall, have you seen my..." His voice trailed off as I jumped away from Niall. Zayn was leaning against the doorframe, smirking. Louis was standing next to him, fists and jaw clenched. I watched him swallow multiple times before finally finding his voice.

"Niall."

Without a word, Niall moved past me, climbed off the bed and followed the still-fuming Lou out of the room.

Zayn was still smirking at me. "So, anything interesting happen tonight?"

I face-palmed.

Chapter 7

I refused to talk to Zayn for the rest of the night, which wasn't much. The boys ordered pizza, then they wanted to watch an American horror movie, so they looked some up online, and finally decided to watch 'Freddy Vs. Jason'. Which is where we are right now:

"Lou," Zayn warned. "Do you remember Cassie's reaction the last time we watched a horror movie? And she didn't even see the whole movie!" He exclaimed.

Louis just shrugged. "She doesn't have to watch it if she doesn't want to."

Zayn turned to me. "Do you want to watch a creepy horror movie partly about some dude that kills kids in their sleep?"

I scowled, pursed my lips, crossed my arms, and pointedly turned away from him, finding myself face-to-face with Niall. After Louis had talked to him about whatever earlier, they both had come away happy and acting as if nothing had even happened. Niall seemed ecstatic; Lou looked a bit reluctant, but happy nonetheless.

"I'll watch it, Louis." I said, making sure to add stress to Louis' name so Zayn didn't think I was talking to him.

I turned around slightly to see that Zayn had frowned while Louis grinned widely at me. Harry began setting up the TeleVision with the (movie, I'm assuming) that Liam had given him a moment before.

"Alright; it's ready!" Harry called over his shoulder, giving Lou a toothy grin and a thumbs-up.

No sooner than I could think, Niall had grabbed my arm and was leading me over to the little couch. Pulling me down beside him, arm wrapped around my waist, he grinned at me. I grinned back. We were interrupted by the other boys. With a rather loud shout, Zayn sat down next to Niall, Harry plopped down next to me, and Louis threw himself down on Harry's lap.

By the end of the movie, I was completely petrified.

My eyes were wide and still glued to the now blank TeleVision screen. I could barely feel Niall shaking my shoulders and unconsciously blocked out the sound of the other boys calling my name over and over.

Out of nowhere, there was an icy, wet sensation on my head and quickly dripping lower. I jumped about five feet, and finally my senses were open. Louis was standing in front of me, wearing a sheepish smile and holding an empty cup.

"Sorry, Cassie, but you weren't listening and it was really starting to scare us." I frowned at him, and he sighed warily. "How about you go change and then we'll all go to bed, yeah?"

Harry, Zayn, and Liam nodded in agreement, standing and heading toward the bunks, Lou following shortly after asking me if I was alright.

Niall stayed. "Cassie, are you sure you're alright? You don't look alright to me..."

I guess my eyes were still wide.

I nodded, looking up at him. When I saw his expression, I stopped nodding and shrugged, before shaking my head slowly. Immediately, he gathered me in his arms and pulled me tightly against his chest. I was frozen for a moment, almost as if I were petrified once again, before slowly hugging him back. Unable to help myself, I buried my head in his chest, closing my eyes tightly. After about what seemed like only a minute, he pulled away.

"Go get changed so you can go to bed, yeah?" He murmured softly.

I nodded slowly, still slightly disoriented.

He gave me another hug, before going into the bunks like the other boys had after the movie had ended.

I was exhausted, but still in a considerably good mood. Slowly, I walked over to the room with the bunks, not wanting to leave Cassie, but knowing I had to.

As soon as I entered the room, the lights, once off, were on again in a blinding flash, and four boys with suspicious expressions were practically pouncing on me.

"Well, you were in there a while. What were you two doing? Snogging on the couch?" Zayn wriggled his eyebrows at me. This was the first full sentence I had heard since I'd entered the room. I glared at him.

"No."

Liam's eyebrows raised. "What were you doing? You were both in there for half an hour."

Half an hour?! It had felt like only a moment to me...

I glared at Liam. "We weren't doing anything."

He held his hands up in defense, smirking along with the other boys.

I rolled my eyes, slammed my fist down on the light switch, and threw myself onto my bunk, sighing heavily.

Shivering, I pulled off my larger-than-life t-shirt, and pulled on one that actually fit. Thankfully, the water had only hit my shirt, so I didn't have to change into a different pair of shorts.

Not wanting to return to the bunks so soon, I sat on the floor of the restroom, still shivering.

Don't think about Jason, don't think about Jason.

Despite what the boys probably think, Freddy Krueger didn't scare me at all, because I don't dream. I had taught myself not to at a young age, since the only dreams I'd ever had were nightmares. Plus, who would be scared of a guy in a sweater and hat? He was funny, and at least you'd know if he were coming for you. But Jason has more of a mysterious air. He doesn't talk, isn't funny, and you'll never know when he's coming for you. You could blink, and bam! Jason was standing over you on your bed with an axe.

Closing my eyes, I shoved all thoughts of Jason to the back of my brain. Standing shakily, I pushed open the restroom door, and walked slowly into the bunk room. The lights were off, and everyone appeared to be asleep, besides Liam, who was laying on his bed with his laptop open, video-chatting with someone. Probably Danielle. He smiled and waved at me when I came in; I smiled back and climbed straight into my bunk. A few minutes later, I heard Liam say good-bye to (probably Danielle) and settle in for bed.

Three hours later, I was still awake in bed, staring at the ceiling, eyes wide and unblinking.

Taking a deep breath, I made my decision. I climbed out of my bunk slowly and quietly went over to Niall's.

"Niall?"

I heard a low mumble and Niall shifted in his sleep. I tried not to laugh when he sat up. "Cassie?"

Suddenly I was nervous. "Uh; er; I..." I took a deep breath. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

He blinked tiredly at me. I was just about to say 'never mind', and go back to my bunk when I felt his hands around my wrists. I let him pull me toward him, mainly because I was in too much shock to protest or argue. He pulled me back against his chest, keeping his arms tight around me. The position seems to me like it should be uncomfortable, but it isn't. Quite the opposite, actually.

I stayed awake a few more moments then, to see if I was still too scared to sleep. I didn't feel any fear, but there was a warm feeling buried deep inside me that I couldn't find a name for, which did scare me.

Much like the first night I had spent with the boys, I unconsciously cuddled closer to Niall, falling asleep almost immediately.

I woke the next morning to an oddly positioned Niall. His face was buried in my neck and he was lying horizontally on the bunk, with his legs hanging off the edge. I suppressed a giggle, not wanting to startle him. One wrong move, and he'd fall off the bunk. Apparently I didn't suppress it very well.

Niall raised his head to look at me. "What're you laughing at?"

"Nothing." I said innocently. "By the way, in case you hadn't noticed, you're about to fall off the bunk."

He didn't look surprised, just amused.

Smiling sleepily at me, he pulled himself back onto the bed and into a normal, vertical position, with his arm around my waist. I felt my eyelids begin to grow heavy, but before I could fall asleep, I heard faint shouts that began to grow louder. The boys were arguing about food or something.

Groaning, Niall sat up, pulling me up with him.

They all shut up when they entered the bunk room, staring at us. Honestly, I think that annoying smirk is glued to Zayn's face.

Chapter 8

Liam raised his eyebrows. "Fun night? Or should I say morning?"

Niall groaned, threw a pillow at him, and flipped over onto his face.

I leaned over him and smiled at the boys. "Morning, guys. This isn't exactly my fault. If four idiots hadn't decided to let me watch a horror movie last night, I'd be in my own bunk right now." I scowled directly at Louis.

Harry raised his hands in defense. "You said you wanted to watch it! We asked; we gave you the chance to say 'no', but you didn't, so that's on your head." With that, he walked out of the room.

Liam rolled his eyes, came over, and stood on the bunk under Niall's. Grabbing Niall's arm, he tried to pull him off the bunk. "No…" Niall groaned, struggling to fall back asleep. Louis joined in on trying to wake him up.

"Get up, mate, or Harry will eat all of breakfast!" Lou said with an evil grin.

"Breakfast?!" Niall shot out of the bed like a bullet and was out of the room in seconds; record time.

Liam smiled sheepishly at me before offering his hand.

I smiled back and took it gratefully, letting him help me off the bunk.

"You know Niall fancies you, right?" He said once I was on the ground. Lou and Zayn had left after Niall.

Still groggy, I just stared at him, confused. He grinned at me and ran into the kitchen with the others, but not before calling over his shoulder, "Don't tell him I told you that!" There was no chance of that; I was still too tired to properly digest what exactly he had said to me. Something that involved Niall and fancy things.

Shrugging it off, I decided to head to where everyone else was – the kitchen.

The kitchen – the room I quickly learned was the chaos room. I should've known it'd be the kitchen, what with there being five teenage boys… (Don't tell Louis I called him a teenager.)

The kitchen was a small room with not much it is, (which I'm sure was a disappointment for Niall. He thinks the kitchen should be the largest room.). It consisted only of a long-ish table, a sink, small refrigerator, and a stove/oven.

Zayn and Harry were shouting at each other about who-knows-what, Liam and Louis were arguing over the stove, and Niall was quite literally stuffing his face with a plate full of food. Not surprisingly, he was the only one who noticed when I walked in. He took a break from his food for a moment to grin at me before giving it his undivided attention once again.

Smiling, I just shook my head at him. Looking back at the other boys, though, I sighed, realizing that I would have to get breakfast the hard way: waiting until someone notices me and offers to make me something. Yes, waiting is difficult for me. I've found out that I don't have much patience. Normally, when I wake up, someone has already made me breakfast, though they never tell me who.

I took a seat across from Niall, placing my head in my hands to watch him. He hesitated for a moment, looking up at me nervously. When I smiled at him, he just shrugged and continued eating.

I had almost fallen asleep again by the time Lou noticed me.

"I was here f-" Cue the moment when my brother finally notices my presence in the room. "Oh; hey, Cassie!" He grinned widely at me. "How long have you been sitting there without breakfast?" He asked, grin turning into a frown quickly.

I shrugged and pouted.

He scowled. "Not okay! Why didn't anyone else get her breakfast?!" He asked angrily, turning to the rest of the boys, efficiently breaking Harry and Zayn's argument. Zayn raised his hands in defense.

"Niall normally does it." Liam and Harry were silent. Niall froze.

Louis sighed harshly, before grinning at me and reached across the small space to ruffle my hair. Normally I hated it when he did that, but this time I didn't care, since it was granting me food. "I'll make you breakfast, Cassie." He said, shooting a glare at Niall. Rolling his eyes, he ruffled my hair again before going to make me breakfast.

Niall wasn't frozen anymore. He had turned to glare at Zayn, who now looked uncomfortable. "Um; I think I'm going to; er…" His gaze flickered over the door, passing over me briefly, and moved back toward Niall. "I think I'm just going to go get ready." He ran past me and out the door. Another door slammed.

The only sounds in the kitchen now were of Lou making my breakfast. So much for the chaos room.

Abruptly, Niall got up from the table and stormed out of the room. Liam followed him, wearing a worried expression.

Chapter 9

It was pretty awkward in the kitchen after everyone was gone. Louis was still making my breakfast.

I yawned.

Lou shook his head. "You," he pointed whatever he was holding at me. "need to wake up earlier."

I shrugged. "I," I pointed at myself. "don't need to be at interviews early in the morning."

He grinned at me. "Touché."

I grinned back at him.

A few more moments of silence.

"Okay," he said, plopping a plate of food down in front of me. "Breakfast for two!" He grinned, sitting across from me."

We ate breakfast in more silence. Zayn and Liam didn't return, and neither did Niall. I tried not to think about it. Why did he make breakfast for me?

Liam followed me. Why did he follow me?

"Why did you follow me again?" I groaned, shoving my fingers through my hair anxiously.

He shrugged. "You looked upset."

I lifted my face from my hands and glared at him. He lifted his hands in defense. "I'm only trying to help. Don't take your anger out on me. Don't take it out on Zayn, either." My fists automatically clenched. "He didn't do anything he thought was wrong. It's partly your fault for deciding to do it for her anonymously. It goes without saying that she was going to find out somehow."

"I've been doing it since she got here! And Zayn just decided that all of a sudden he wanted to let her know?!"

Liam was silent.

"Whatever you do, don't take your anger out on Zayn. He was just trying to help."

"Help?" I said through clenched teeth. "How is that helping anything? He knew I didn't want her to know; you've all been sworn to secrecy." All my anger was drained. Now I was just left feeling anxious, betrayed, exhausted, and maybe, if I was admitting things to myself, a little hopeful.

"Did you ever think that her knowing that you make her breakfast every morning could be beneficial to you? Why do you not want her to know so bad?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. I didn't have an answer.

"Exactly." Liam said. "Maybe you should just face it, face her."

I didn't know how I could face her after that. It felt like Zayn had ruined my life with that one, innocent little sentence. Not even a full sentence, really. But there was nothing I could do about it. On the other hand, though, I didn't know why I was so afraid to face her. So I made her breakfast every morning, is that so bad? Why would she yell at me for helping? But, then again, maybe she'd be angry at me for not telling her that it's me who always makes her breakfast.

A door slammed closed. Liam stood. "I'm going to go get ready. Don't kill Zayn, alright? Promise me you won't kill him." I looked up as Zayn walked into the room. I glared at him, then Liam. Liam glared back.

After a moment, I sighed, muttering, "Fine."

Liam was still glaring. "Promise."

"I promise." I said through clenched teeth.

He nodded, satisfied, and went away, smiling at Zayn as he did.

"You sound like a girl!" I called after him; he ignored me.

Zayn was standing in the doorway of the bunk room, looking nervous. I sighed. "You can come in, you know. I'm not going to kill you." I called. "Yet." An added mutter.

I didn't watch to see whether he had come in or not; I covered my head with the blanket on my bunk, inhaling deeply. It smelled like Cassie...

"Seriously?" I asked excitedly.

He grinned. "Yep!"

Holding in a squeal, I jumped up and hugged him tightly. "Thank you!"

He chuckled. "It's just a concert."

I stared at him pointedly.

"Okay; I know you've never been to a concert before, but, still, its just a concert."

I glared at him, arms crossed. "I'm excited and nothing you can say can deter that."

He raised his hands in defense. "Whatever you say!" He said, chuckling as he left the room.

Zayn walked in as he left. "What's he laughing about?" His thumb jutted over his shoulder after Louis, who was still laughing at me.

I pouted, over being angry at him. "He's laughing at me."

"Aw; why?" He asked, jumping on the ledge of the sink.

"Because I get to go to my first concert tonight, so I'm excited, and he thinks its not very big so he was laughing at me."

Zayn raised his eyebrows. "Our concerts are pretty big."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm pretty sure he meant it metaphorically, as in its not that big a deal."

"What? Our concerts are very much a big deal!" He said, faking hurt.

I sighed. "Zayn, I'm not in the mood."

His grin turned into a frown.

"What's wrong?"

I shrugged. "I don't know; just not in a very good mood." That was partly true. I had been thinking about Niall all morning. At first I was shocked. I hadn't suspected at all that it was him who made my breakfast in the morning; I had thought it was Lou being a good brother but not telling me about it to protect his 'manhood'. I mentally shook my head. Childhood was more like it, when it comes to Louis Tomlinson. When I'd gotten over my initial shock, I'd been overwhelmed by how sweet he was. That feeling didn't last long; it was instantly replaced with a growing suspicion. I suddenly remembered what Liam had said to me that morning completely clearly, even though it had entered my brain in a groggy, garbled state. 'You know Niall fancies you, right?' It took me a moment, but I remembered what that meant soon enough; it was one of the first things Danielle and Eleanor had taught me.

Swallowing hard, I forced a smile at Zayn and went to go find my phone in the bunk room. I'm guessing the lump on Niall's bunk was Niall. I suppressed a giggle, trying not to make a sound as I grabbed my phone from where it lay on my bunk.

Opening it, I checked the two messages I had from my new Mom. Over the last week and a half, I had actually talked to her and my new sisters a lot; I thought of them as family already. I was even able to call her Mom without it feeling weird anymore. If course, it was still peculiar using the word 'mom' instead of 'mother', but I figure I'll get over that quickly.

'How's Louis? I miss him; tell him to call me!'

'Forget that. How are you? You haven't texted or called in a few days; I've gotten worried :('

I smiled and texted her back:

'I'm fine :) just been busy sleeping ;) ill tell Lou to call. Xx'

Opening a new message, I addressed it to Eleanor:

'Um; this morning Liam told me something interesting...'

I didn't have to wait long for her reply:

'Don't just leave me hanging like that! What'd he say?!'

I smiled.

'He said, and I quote, "You know Niall fancies you, right?"'

She made a frustrated noise on the other side of the phone.

'Er; what?'

'Sorry; I just sort of face-phoned because of your stupidity.'

Ouch.

':('

'Oh, come on, Cassie! You know I'm joking. I love you!

'Erm...'

'Sigh. I'm calling you."

Seconds later my phone rang. Eleanor, of course.

I answer: "Hello?"

Silence. Then, "Are you alone?"

"Um..." I looked over at Niall's bed, where he had been. He wasn't there anymore. I breathed a sigh of relief. "Yep; what's up? Why'd you call?"

I could hear her sighing through the phone. "Oh, geez, Cassie, you're so thick-brained. You know I love you, but we need Danielle if we're to discuss this." Discuss what?

"What are you-"

"Hold in, Cassie, I'm going to three-way Danielle."

I waited a moment. Then Danielle's voice came over the phone. "Hello? What's up?"

"Code red." Eleanor.

"Code red?" Me.

"Cassie?" Danielle.

"Hi, Danielle!" Me.

"Hey, Cassie! Eleanor, no one but you knows what a code red is." Danielle.

Another sigh. "Cassie says this morning Liam told her Niall fancies her." Eleanor dragged out the word 'fancies'. I groaned over the phone.

"Is that what this is about? Eleanor, I don't see why you called this 'code red'. We already knew Niall fancies Cassie, this is just saying that Liam knows now, too." Danielle. She sighed almost as dramatically as Eleanor. Eleanor had some dramatic sighing action going on over her end of the phone...

"Er; hello? I'm still here, and Niall does not fancy me." I argued.

"I beg to differ." Came from Eleanor. "How can you not see it? He's practically in love with you. And we know you fancy him, too." She teased.

The world stopped on its axis. Metaphorically, of course.

"What?" Me.

"Eleanor, I gotta go. Reassure Cassie on your own. I'll talk to you guys later. Love you! Bye!"

Eleanor sighed dramatically again.

"Well, Cassie, all the signs are-" Her voice was cut off by Harry whining in my ear. "Cassie, Louis says you have to get ready! We have to go in ten minutes. Who are you talking to?"

"I have to go. Bye!" I said quickly, and hung up before she could protest.

Harry frowned at me. J just shrugged and smiled, before getting off my bed, and into the shower to get ready for my first ever concert.

I took too long to get ready, so the boys had to leave without me, leaving Thomas to take me.

I smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, Thomas."

He grinned and winked at me. "Anytime, love." I just rolled my eyes, laughing.

By the time he had pulled away, the talk I had given myself earlier to Di this was inching out of my brain bit by bit, being replaced with worry as I stared at the back door of the Arena... Why are you nervous? I asked myself. Your brother invited you here. Security knows who you are and why you're there, so there's no chance of you getting in trouble! But... Should I go in, or just call Thomas and-

I didn't have time to finish that thought. My question was answered for me when the door flew open and Louis was standing there, grinning, arms wide open for a hug.

A matching grin stretched across my face and I forgot my earlier worries. Giggling, I hugged my brother tightly.

"What was that supposed to mean?" I asked him, laughing.

"No; they're not busy, and yes they're allowed to have time to wait." He said, exasperated.

"Well, I apologize for not understanding your stupid, two-sided, wordless answers." I huffed, crossing my arms.

He just rolled his eyes.

Soon enough, we were in a large, black room. There were five doors on one wall, obviously the boys' dressing rooms, couches and chairs were scattered across the room, and there was a curtain opposite the dressing rooms. The boys were scattered on a few of the couches and chairs, laughing at Harry, who was violently choking, his face red. At first I was worried, but I realized it was from laughing too hard.

Zayn, Liam, and Niall looked up when we came in.

"Cassie!" Zayn shouted, rushing over and giving me a big hug. I laughed to cover up the pain. Normally, the boys hugged me gently, and I think its because Louis may or may not have told then that I have bruises and am sensitive. Apparently, they'd forgotten that today. Liam was next. He gathered me into a hug. Not as hard as Zayn, but enough to be affectionate. After Liam came Niall. He hugged me gently, and I hugged him back tightly.

"Oh, break it up." Harry said.

"You've been apart for what? Five, six hours? Where's my hug, Cassie?" He asked with mock hurt.

Reluctantly, I pulled away from Niall and gave Harry a big hug.

"Boys, you're on in five."

Louis handed me my ticket. "Good luck!" I told them all as they went to stand in their places under the stage. Niall looked back and grinned at me. I grinned back, before following a security guard; Lou had apparently decided I needed to be escorted to my seat. Whatever; I didn't think about it. Nothing was going to ruin this for me.

Chapter 10

I tried not to notice all the girls screaming around me; they were rather loud, and it made my ears hurt so much. However, I almost started screaming with them when the boys appeared onstage. Now, I want to say that I was a good sister and was proud to see my older brother so happy, making others happy, and realizing how successful and famous they really were, but, honestly, I don't want to lie to you. I am proud of my brother, I really am! But... I wasn't really paying much attention to him throughout the concert. In my defense, it wasn't hard to stare at Niall when he was staring at me whenever he wasn't singing. Which was most of the time. I actually don't understand why he doesn't have more parts in songs on the album; his voice is really amazing... Okay, now I'm POSITIVE I've been spending too much time talking to Eleanor. Cue the annoyed sigh. Anyway, I kind of spent a little of the concert staring at Niall... Okay, most of the concert... Okay, maybe all of it, but can you really blame me? I didn't think so.

The boys were all laughing and grinning when the guard, (whose name, I had learned, was Cameron), led me backstage.

"Cassie!" Louis shouted when I entered, causing me to wince. "Did you like it?!" He shouted/asked, grinning.

"It was loud." I remarked, which was quite an understatement. I could hardly hear the boys singing with all the screaming in my ears, which seemed kind of stupid to me. I mean, they paid money for tickets to the concert, to hear the boys sing, and yet they were screaming too loud to actually hear them sing. I figured the only reason I could really hear them at all was because my seat was right next to the stage. A few times throughout the concert, when he wasn't singing, Niall would make eye contact with me and grin; I'd grin back. Apparently a lot of the girls who were near me in the front row noticed, also, and began screaming even louder in my ear, making my head hurt. Most of the concert for me was spent trying to block out the screaming and nurse my headache. I think Niall and Liam noticed because they were both giving me worried looks for the rest of the concert.

Louis rolled his eyes. "I know it was loud. I was there, remember?" He chuckled. "Seriously, Cassie, did you like it?"

I paused for a moment, thinking. Other than the noise, I had really liked the songs, from what words I could gather from them. The screaming girls, remember?

Nodding, I smiled at him. "I actually really liked the songs." I said, feigning a shocked expression.

As expected, Louis pouted. "You didn't expect to like them?"

I mentally smirked. Too easy. "Well..." I started, but then laughed at his expression. "Lou, I'm joking! I knew I would love your songs." I grinned at him. Zayn and Harry were laughing at Louis, while Liam and Niall were talking.

"We're going out to eat." Liam announced, after shaking his head at Niall and standing.

"What's a good place to eat?" Liam asked our American driver, Steve.

"Is there a Nandos here in America?!" Niall interrupted.

Steve chuckled. "Unless you want a six-hour trip to a completely different state, the only one in which there is a Nandos in this country, no."

Niall groaned and sat back in his seat, dejected.

"Why don't you just surprise us and take us wherever you think is nice?" Liam suggested.

Steve shrugged. "Whatever you say."

Ten minutes later, and we're standing outside a building with the name 'Red Lobster'. What kind of name is that? Aren't all lobsters red?

It was actually a pretty uneventful meal. I was proud of myself for managing to not only read the menu without any help, but also to order by myself. Just because I completely hated what I'd ordered and couldn't even tell you what it was doesn't mean anything. I had still ordered by myself. I was so proud of myself, and that's all that matters, right?

The ride to our hotel for the night was also uneventful. I wish I could say that the boys were tired, and fell asleep on the way, like me, but that didn't happen, so I can't. Telling the truth, remember?

When we arrived at the hotel, I didn't look at it much, figuring all hotels would be the same and that it wasn't too interesting to me.

We walked into the hotel, well, I walked, they practically ran, ready for bed. Well, I was, at least. The lady at the desk chuckled at the boys' behavior. Luckily, no one else was there to chastise them as we got into the elevator.

"What are we going to do tonight?" Zayn asked excitedly.

Niall groaned. "Sleep?" At least someone agrees with me.

Zayn rolled his eyes. "You're the only one tired, Niall. Your vote doesn't count."

I sighed. "I'm tired, too. I don't see how you guys are still awake?" I narrowed my eyes at Zayn. "Have you had any caffeine recently, by any chance?"

He just sighed. "Fine. Cassie and Niall can go to bed." We'll just use Louis' room to do something actually fun.

I rolled my eyes as the elevator pinged and we walked out. "You do realize that Lou's room is mine, too, right?"

Zayn groaned. "Please?" Louis asked me, eyes wide and lips in full pout form.

I sighed hugely. "Fine..." I said, dragging out the word. He grinned and hugged me tightly. All the boys filed into my room, including Niall.

Not wanting to participate in whatever they were doing, I went to take a shower. That might have also had something to do with the fact that Liam and Niall were occupying my bed, while Harry, Zayn, and Lou took the other.

Chapter 11

Luckily, my suitcase was already in the room, so I didn't have to risk a confrontation with the boys by going back for it. Sighing, I took a quick shower before mulling over the issue of what to wear. Normally, for sleeping, I'd just pull on an over-sized t-shirt and a pair of comfortable shorts, but tonight the boys are in here, and will probably make me play games with them, so I won't be concealed by blankets, like I am on the tour bus. I frowned at my thoughts. Was I really obsessing over what I was going to wear in front of the boys? No! I told myself sharply. I am changed now. I'll never be completely outgoing, like wearing skirts or dresses or anything too revealing, but I am still changed. And I didn't have to obsess about what to wear in front of the boys; they were practically brothers to me... Well, most of them, anyway, I thought. I was shocked to notice my heart rate speed up considerably when I thought about Niall. Despite what Danielle, Liam, and Eleanor think, I am completely positive that Niall does not, and never will feel the same way about me as, I admit, I feel about him. I paused in the middle of pulling on the comfortable, stretchy pants and form-fitting t-shirt I had decided on wearing. Was this what normal girls think about all the time? Wow; I honestly think I may have underestimated the girls at school. Being normal was a lot harder than it looked. Although, I thought, I'd prefer it over being beaten mercilessly...

I know this is pretty off-subject, but I kind of want to explain to you why I'm more open both with the way I talk and the way I dress. Well, the way I dress is easy: Eleanor actually insisted on getting rid of all my old clothes, so I now have no choice but to wear the new ones. I don't mind, actually, since I've found most of them fairly comfortable. Well... Yeah; let's stick with that. List of them are comfortable. Yeah; let's not get into that. And the way I talk: this is because Eleanor and Danielle are trying to get me to be less shy. There's always a pang of embarrassment there, though, whenever I roll my eyes or pout. Eleanor says that'll go away soon, now that I'm acting like an actual person. You would think that'd sound rude, but it didn't. I know Eleanor only has my best interests at heart. Plus, I love the fact that I'm supposedly acting normal now. Despite the embarrassment and awkwardness, it makes me feel good to know that I'm acting normal. On another bright note, the bruise on my eye has sincerely faded, and the others are beginning to fade. Also, I'm able to keep my hair wavy all the time. It hasn't been that way since the day I grew hair. I like it better this way. It's different. I like different; I like change.

Smiling slightly, I finished pulling on my clothes and dared a look in the mirror. My smile instantly faded, and I grimaced at my reflection. Hideous.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, I cleared my head of any and all thoughts and just sat down on the floor, not thinking about anything for a moment.

After I had deemed myself ready of seeing the boys, I took a deep breath and dragged myself off the floor.

Opening the door, I walked out and plopped down next to Niall on my bed, not paying any attention to the boys at first. Fortunately, I soon noticed how silent they were, and looked up at them. They were all staring at me.

"What?"

Harry scowled. "Louis wouldn't let us do anything without you. It's been boring!" He whined.

I looked at Lou, eyebrow raised. He just shrugged. "I didn't want to start a game in case you wanted to play, too."

I laughed. "I'm not playing a game with you guys."

Louis frowned. "Why not?" I raised an eyebrow; he grinned. "Point taken."

Smiling, I leaned back, satisfied.

"But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna make you play." He was wearing an evil smirk.

I glared at him. "This is America; I have the right not to play a game. I don't know what the laws are like for you in the UK, but I have free will here."

He rolled his eyes. "You're playing a game with us."

"No; I'm not."

"Yes; you are."

"No; I'm not."

"Yes; you are."

"No; I'm not!"

"Yes; you are!"

"She doesn't have to play if she doesn't want to." Niall said, frustrated.

Louis shut up, frowning. Everyone stayed that way for a moment. Zayn shrugged. "Are we going to play a game or not?"

"Actually, we should all be going to bed." Liam said, checking the time on his phone.

Zayn and Harry groaned. Liam just shrugged, and they all filed out of the room.

"We're still playing a game." I heard Zayn faintly through the closed door.

Louis sighed. "We just wasted almost a half hour doing nothing."

I giggled. "You guys actually tend to do that a lot, whether you'll admit it or not."

He just glared at me; I rolled my eyes. "It's true!"

"Whatever." He grumbled, before pulling out his phone and leaning back on the bed.

I was sharing a room with Liam, while Harry shared with Zayn. Unfortunately, though, Liam wasn't tired at all. He just wanted to get me alone to 'talk'.

"Niall, are you even listening to me?" He asked for the seventh time, frustrated.

"No, Liam!" I finally exploded. "I'm not listening, because I never asked for your advice on anything! I, unlike some people, actually want to sleep!" I stormed out of the room, leaving Liam gaping behind me. Good for him. Honestly, I hadn't wanted to yell at him; I was just frustrated that he kept talking to me. I was tired, and I couldn't stop thinking about Cassie...

Once in the hallway, I paused. I couldn't exactly go to Zayn and Harry's room - they were probably playing a game and wouldn't let me sleep. But that left Louis and Cassie's room... Groaning, I decided it was better than going back to face Liam.

I was just about to fall asleep when there was a knock at the door. Louis looked over at me; I glared at him best as I could, you know, being half-conscious and all...

He groaned before giving in and getting up to get the door. Rolling over, I watched curiously. I saw his face change from confusion, to concern, to understanding, and finally reprimanding.

He opened the door wider, letting whoever it was inside... And I was immediately awake. Niall went over and sat on Lou's bed. Confused, I sat up.

Louis came over to me. "Niall and Liam had a bit of a fight, so I'm going to go sleep in their room tonight. Alright?"

I just shrugged, hiding the excitement and nervousness boiling inside of me. When Lou had left, I dared a glance at Niall. He grinned at me.

Chapter 12

"What'd you and Liam fight about?" I ask curiously. He just shrugs and looks away

After a moment of awkward and uncomfortable silence, he finally looks up at me. "Are you tired?"

I shrug, mumbling, "Not much anymore."

He grins at me. "How about pulling a prank on Zayn and Harry?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Depends on what you've got in mind."

Fifteen minutes later, Cassie and I are standing outside the door to Harry and Zayn's hotel room, armed with a bucket of water, string, and a rope. One of the oldest pranks in the book. Luckily, no hotel staff caught us carrying the suspicious materials over to the room.

I'm actually not surprised that Cassie agreed to do this with me. As soon as I saw her, I knew that, even though she was shy, as soon as she came out of her shell, she'd be one massive prankster. Perfect; my own partner in crime for when I want to pull pranks on the boys. Unfortunately, she didn't want to do the same for Liam amd Louis' room.

"Come on; please?" I asked for the millionth time while setting up the annoyingly simple, yet difficult, prank.

"Nope." She said, still as adamant as she had been ten minutes before.

I frowned. "Why not? He's your brother - you two are supposed to be pulling pranks on each other and going at each other's throats."

She frowned. "That doesn't seem normal for siblings."

I laughed. "Oh; it's normal, all right. I have an older brother; I would know."

That only made her frown deepen. "So?" She shook her head. "Please?" Another no. "For me?" Hesitation, but yet another head shake. I sighed, giving up. She just laughed at me.

"There!" I said, finished with the difficult rope and string. I stepped back to survey my work.

"Looks like it'll work, but..." Cassie reached over and tightened the rope that had taken me a full five minutes to place. Stepping back when she was done, she grinned. "Perfect."

I laughed. "Impressive. Who knew you would know how to pull a good prank?"

She blushed. "It's not that hard. When you put science and common sense into it, it's not-"

I cut her off. "This is a prank, not a science test. Hurry; let's go before one of them hears us outside the door." Harry and Zayn's laughs were beginning to subside in the room. Grabbing Cassie's arm, we quickly ran back down the hallway and back into her room. The prank wasn't supposed to go into action until the next morning anyway.

Leaning against the door, I tried to catch my breath from laughing so hard. It wasn't easy. Once I finally had enough oxygen in my body to breath normally again, I turned to Cassie. She was on her bed, the heap of a blanket piled on her head. I laughed again. "Cassie, you're going to suffocate under there."

There was a muffled response that sounded suspiciously like, 'I don't care.'

Trying to hold in my laughter, I pulled the blanket off her head. She looked around, then up at me blinking confusedly. I raised an eyebrow. She just shrugged, took the blanket back from me, and turned off the lights.

I laughed. "Good night."

"Night." She mumbled.

Rolling my eyes, I followed her lead, getting into Louis' bed, and falling asleep almost immediately.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that my ears were pounding. The second thing I noticed was that my ears were pounding because someone had shouted. Confused, I sat up, rubbing my eyes sleepily. I looked around the small hotel room. Niall was snoring in Lou's bed, hanging halfway off, the same way he'd been on his bunk; I rolled my eyes. The scream came again, this time followed by a splash. In a flash, I remembered last night. Right. The buckets of water and-

My thoughts were interrupted as the door flung open. Liam, Louis, Zayn, and Harry were all standing there. Liam looked like he was trying to keep a stern expression, but was hopelessly failing, while Harry and Zayn were practically rolling on the floor laughing. I immediately joined them, seeing my brother, drenched in water, standing in the doorway, trying not to laugh at his own expense, and instead struggling to keep an angry expression on his face.

Apparently all the loud laughing woke Niall up. He sat up sleepily. "Wha-?" He burst out laughing when he saw Louis standing in the doorway, drenched. After a few minutes, everyone had calmed down.

"Wait, wait." Niall said. I could tell he was struggling to hold back laughter. "That was outside Harry and Zayn's door. How'd you get drenched, Louis?" He was looking away from Lou to keep from laughing. Unfortunatly, at the last moment, he looked back and started laughing again. I had stopped laughing a little bit ago, but began laughing again at the expression on Zayn's face when Niall said that.

"What?!" He exclaimed. Groaning, he glared at Niall.

After another long round of laughter at Zayn's expression, Liam was finally able to arrange his expression to resemble some authority. "So, you're admitting to having done it?"

Niall's laughing stopped at that. He raised an eyebrow. "I don't know. Maybe." I rolled my eyes.

Liam shakes his head, frustrated. "We don't have time for this; we'll deal with it later. We have concerts all day today, and need to be gone in an hour." He began pushing the other boys back to their rooms. "If you're not ready in an hour," he called behind him at Louis, who had traded places with Niall, "we're leaving without you."

Lou just rolled his eyes, mumbling. "Yeah; right."

I grinned at him once the door had shut behind the boys. He managed a scowl. "You helped him with it, didn't you?"

I nodded, not seeing the point in denying. "Yes; I did. And I'm proud of it." I grinned at him.

Finally, he broke down, and couldn't help but to smile back at me. Grabbing his back, he made his way through the mass of blankets we had thrown on the floor to get to the restroom. "Oh; Louis?" I called after him.

"Yeah?" He asked, poking his head out of the door.

"What am I supposed to do today?"

"Oh; right." He said. "Actually, we have a driver arranged that'll take you anywhere you want, and have you back at the tour bus by the time we're ready to leave."

I nodded, and he closed the door behind his retreating head. A day all to myself, without the boys? Well, this should be boring...

After the boys left, I took a shower, pulled on a pair of shorts, (I didn't understand why they had to be so short, but they were comfortable, so I was okay with it), and a t-shirt that actually fit. I considered pulling on my jacket, which I had begged Eleanor to let me keep, but decided against it, after a quick weather check on my phone. I pulled on my combat boots, yet another thing I had begged to keep, and slipped my phone into my pocket, before making my way out of the stuffy hotel.

There was a driver leaning against a black car waiting for me outside. I breathed a sigh of relief; it wasn't a limo. In all honesty, I was getting sick of those. The driver smiled at me when I came out. I returned the gesture. He helped me into the back of the car and smiled at me through the mirror in the front. "Where to?"

I shrugged. He looked uncomfortable. After a moment, I broke the awkward silence. "Any place would be great, actually. I don't really have anywhere specific in mind."

He grinned at me, before starting the car, and we were off. Today should be interesting...

Chapter 13

I laughed as Daniel grinned at me.

How about I rewind about fifteen minutes? Daniel, (the 'driver') suggested a bunch of different places to go to, but I couldn't choose. So, instead of spending my day by myself, going anywhere I wanted, I decided to spend my day with Daniel, who was only a year older than me. We had decided to go first out for breakfast, then to spend the day at a local amusement park. Honestly, it had been a pretty amazing day, and Daniel was great. He was actually from Ohio, the state we were in, so he knew his way around quite well.

"Bye, Daniel!" I called over my shoulder, still laughing as I pushed open the door to the tour bus.

"Bye, Cassie!" He called back, before driving away.

I smiled to myself as I made my way into the bunk room. Honestly, I wasn't sure why Daniel was supposed to drop me off here. Didn't I need my bag from the hotel? I shrugged; it didn't bother me much.

Climbing onto my bed, I just sat there for a moment, a happy grin making its way onto my face. For the first time, I had been to an amusement park. For the first time, I had gone out of the tour bus or hotel without one or all of the boys, Danielle, or Eleanor. For the first time, I had had a great, fun day... All by myself. Well, with a little help from Daniel. Okay, maybe a lot of help. But, then again, I didn't know my way around, and Daniel was great help with that. Unfortunately, he was only a driver while we were here in Ohio, and we were leaving tonight. But, then again, he probably wouldn't be much help in any other States. It's kind of sad and disheartening that when I finally found someone besides the boys, Danielle, and Eleanor, that could actually make me laugh, I only got to see him for one day. Although we had exchanged numbers, I do think its better to have a friend you can meet with in person whenever you want to. I sighed.

My spirits weren't down for long, though. Not a full five minutes later, the boys had burst through the door, and I had to focus on keeping my ears intact throughout a loud chorus of "Cassie!"'s.

"We've missed you!" Louis cried dramatically.

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "You just saw me this morning, Lou..."

He shook his head and said, "That's what you think.", before winking at me.

I stated at him quizzically, eyes narrowed, for a moment, before giving up and turning my gaze back to the boys, smiling at them. "What're we doing tonight?"

Harry cocked his head to the side. "Another movie night, of course."

I groaned. "No more movies!"

"But I haven't even told you whether it was a scary movie or not yet!" He protested, pouting.

I raised an eyebrow. "It it a scary movie?"

"Maybe..." He said with a sheepish smile.

I groaned again.

"Okay." Liam said, holding his hands up to stop the argument before it happened. "If we're going to watch a movie, we all need to agree on it." He says, adding stress to the word 'all'.

Harry groaned. "This night will officially be no fun."

Liam rolled his eyes.

I sighed.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully, with everyone doing their own things.

The boys did a twitcam late that night, in which I was graced the 'honor' of being included in. I must say that was sarcastic.

"Has everyone met Cassie?" Lou asked, grinning into the camera as he grabbed my hand and pulled me onto his bunk with the other boys where they were doing the twitcam.

I groaned, covering my face with my hands. The boys were quiet for a moment.

"She's seventeen."

"Cassie, what's your favorite color?"

"Green." I mumbled into my hands.

"It's pink." Louis said, grinning when my head shot up and I glared at him.

"I said green and you know it." I snapped.

Louis raised his hands in surrender as I lowered my head back into my hands. I didn't want to see all the questions their fans were asking about me. I didn't want them to see my face. I just can't put myself in that kind of spotlight...

"In a way she's like Zayn: shy at first, but she's certainly come out of her shell."

I sank my head deeper into my hands.

"Well, I guess she's still a bit shy around people she doesn't know..."

I glared at him for the second time. Biggest mistake of the night. He was looking at me with large eyes and lips in a full-on pout. I groaned. "No..."

"Please...?" He asked, dragging out the word.

Sighing harshly, I shook my head violently.

"Come on, Cassie..."

"It's not that hard."

"You're only staring at a screen..."

"You can't even see the people!"

"They can only see you..."

I sighed as all the boys joined in on trying to get me to embarrass myself in front of all their fans.

Unfortunately for me, though, when I looked up for the third time after having been dragged onto Louis' bunk, they were ALL staring at me with wide eyes and pouts. Eleanor always says that whenever they do that, it never leads to anything good, and so I should just 'stay strong and don't let their adorable little faces break your otherwise fully impenetrable demeanor'. Apparently, I wasn't strong enough.

Finally, I gave up, groaning in consent. They cheered and grinned as the screen on Lou's laptop started moving so fast, I couldn't read the words.

"Whoa, whoa." Liam says. "Slow down. She'll never be able to answer any questions if they keep coming that fast." The speed began to slow down, but not by much.

Doing a 'twitcam' is really strange. All the people watching just continued to ask random questions about myself and the boys. I tried to answer them as best as possible. I didn't really want to talk, but I figured that if they took time out of their day to watch this and ask me questions, the least I could do was answer them."

Most of the questions were normal, easy to answer questions, like "What's your favorite food?"

Easy. I grinned into the camera. "Cheese." I said. Liam raised his eyebrows at that while the other boys started laughing uncontrollably. I'd felt the unmistakable traces of a blush beginning in my cheeks, but I refused to give in, instead defending my favorite food. That argument lasted about a full five minutes.

Other questions were more personal, like, "Are you currently dating anyone?" I forced the blush down at that one, quote successfully, I might add, and just shook my head. That question was quite awkward.

A couple hours and probably over fifty questions later:

"Alright; sorry to cut this short-"

"Short?!" Harry exclaimed, disbelieving, while Louis shook his head, rolling his eyes.

Liam just ignored them, "-but we have to go to bed now. We love you all, bye." And then he closed the laptop.

I sighed, relieved. "Can I finally go to bed now?" Lou nodded, missing the sarcasm in my voice.

Mentally shouting in joy, I didn't even bother to change; I just climbed onto my bunk and immediately passed out.

Chapter 14

When I woke the next morning, it was unwilling. I was still exhausted from being awake so late the night before, but apparently the boys weren't, since they decided to literally drag me out of my bunk that morning.

"No..." I groaned. "Why am I never allowed sleep around here?"

Liam shrugged. "We have to hurry and settle into our hotel. We'll be here longer than the others - three days, at the most."

I sighed. "Couldn't you guys have settled into the hotel by yourselves and come back for me? I value my sleep."

Louis laughed. "We wouldn't get settled into our hotel without you, Cassie." He said, ruffling my hair and grinning when I slapped his hand away with a scowl. "Plus, the hotel manager was informed that there would be six people there to settle in, and I'm sure he'd be quite confused if only five showed up."

"So just tell him that I'm on my way." I shrugged. "That won't hurt anyone."

Louis stared at me for a second, before shrugging. "Maybe I decided to take the easy way out - by waking you up!"

I groaned at his loud shout. "Well, I didn't want to be wakened! It's not my fault I was up so late answering pointless questions on your stupid 'twitcam'!" I said, adding "No offense." When Liam gasped at my verbal abuse of his cherished one-sided time spent with the fans. I almost rolled my eyes.

Louis shook his has and crosses his arms, pouting. "We weren't going to leave you on the tour bus by yourself. Now get up and get ready so we can leave!" He said sternly, before turning around and rushing out of the room to converse with Harry, who followed him. Liam and Zayn followed soon after.

Niall smiled at me. I smiled a half-hearted, sleepy smile back at him, before it dropped and a frown found its way onto my face as a replacement. I sighed heavily. "This means I have to get up and get ready, doesn't it?" I say, almost groaning at the thought of moving. He just laughed and began to help me off my bunk.

I smiled gratefully at him before trudging to the restroom.

One shower and change of clothes later, I was completely refreshed and ready to get to the new hotel.

Lou did a double-take when I came into the kitchen, smiling brightly. "Well, someone's had a complete attitude change."

I just shrugged. "A refreshing shower will do that to some people."

Nobody else was in the kitchen but Louis, who was eating, but there was a full plate of food sitting across from him.

I glanced between him and the plate curiously.

He shrugged, said, "It's for you." And rolled his eyes.

My eyebrows pulled together and I glared at him, fully intent on making him tell me whether or not it was Niall who'd made it.

He didn't even look up from his food when he said, sighing, "Yes, Cassie, Niall made it."

Satisfied, I took a seat next to him and began to eat the breakfast, the thought that Niall had made it just for me seeming to make it taste even better than usual.

We pulled up to the front of the hotel half an hour later.

Filing out of the car, we all looked to Sam (the security guard that always decides who we rokm with when we stay at hotels) expectantly. He rolled his eyes. "This time, I've decided to let you choose for yourselves." The boys cheered, and began high-fiving each other. "Wait! But-" They all groaned and the excited grins slipped off their faces. "Not in the way that you think." He said, smirking as he pulled out a hat. "You'll draw names. They all sighed loudly. Sam turned to me. "Cassie can choose first since I like her better." Zayn glared at him while Louis turned ecstatic.

"You mean she doesn't have to room with me all the time any more?" He asked hopefully, fist-pumping the air when Sam nodded. "Score!"

I rolled my eyes and dipped my hand into the hat, pulling out the first small piece of paper my hand landed out. Unfolding it curiously, I barely managed to hold in my gasp and grin. "Niall."

In the end, I was with Niall, Louis with Zayn, and Liam with Harry.

Unlocking the door to our room, I immediately fell back on the bed, wanting to fall back asleep... Wait... The bed? I shot up in horror when I realized that there was only one bed in the room.

How would I ever get any sleep tonight?

Chapter 15

If you're reading this, I love you. Xx

When I woke the next morning, it was unwilling. I was still exhausted from being awake so late the night before, but apparently the boys weren't, since they decided to literally drag me out of my bunk that morning.

"No..." I groaned. "Why am I never allowed sleep around here?"

Liam shrugged. "We have to hurry and settle into our hotel. We'll be here longer than the others - three days, at the most."

I sighed. "Couldn't you guys have settled into the hotel by yourselves and come back for me? I value my sleep."

Louis laughed. "We wouldn't get settled into our hotel without you, Cassie." He said, ruffling my hair and grinning when I slapped his hand away with a scowl. "Plus, the hotel manager was informed that there would be six people there to settle in, and I'm sure he'd be quite confused if only five showed up."

"So just tell him that I'm on my way." I shrugged. "That won't hurt anyone."

Louis stared at me for a second, before shrugging. "Maybe I decided to take the easy way out - by waking you up!"

I groaned at his loud shout. "Well, I didn't want to be wakened! It's not my fault I was up so late answering pointless questions on your stupid 'twitcam'!" I said, adding "No offense." When Liam gasped at my verbal abuse of his cherished one-sided time spent with the fans. I almost rolled my eyes.

Louis shook his has and crosses his arms, pouting. "We weren't going to leave you on the tour bus by yourself. Now get up and get ready so we can leave!" He said sternly, before turning around and rushing out of the room to converse with Harry, who followed him. Liam and Zayn followed soon after.

Niall smiled at me. I smiled a half-hearted, sleepy smile back at him, before it dropped and a frown found its way onto my face as a replacement. I sighed heavily. "This means I have to get up and get ready, doesn't it?" I say, almost groaning at the thought of moving. He just laughed and began to help me off my bunk.

I smiled gratefully at him before trudging to the restroom.

One shower and change of clothes later, I was completely refreshed and ready to get to the new hotel.

Lou did a double-take when I came into the kitchen, smiling brightly. "Well, someone's had a complete attitude change."

I just shrugged. "A refreshing shower will do that to some people."

Nobody else was in the kitchen but Louis, who was eating, but there was a full plate of food sitting across from him.

I glanced between him and the plate curiously.

He shrugged, said, "It's for you." And rolled his eyes.

My eyebrows pulled together and I glared at him, fully intent on making him tell me whether or not it was Niall who'd made it.

He didn't even look up from his food when he said, sighing, "Yes, Cassie, Niall made it."

Satisfied, I took a seat next to him and began to eat the breakfast, the thought that Niall had made it just for me seeming to make it taste even better than usual.

We pulled up to the front of the hotel half an hour later.

Filing out of the car, we all looked to Sam (the security guard that always decides who we rokm with when we stay at hotels) expectantly. He rolled his eyes. "This time, I've decided to let you choose for yourselves." The boys cheered, and began high-fiving each other. "Wait! But-" They all groaned and the excited grins slipped off their faces. "Not in the way that you think." He said, smirking as he pulled out a hat. "You'll draw names. They all sighed loudly. Sam turned to me. "Cassie can choose first since I like her better." Zayn glared at him while Louis turned ecstatic.

"You mean she doesn't have to room with me all the time any more?" He asked hopefully, fist-pumping the air when Sam nodded. "Score!"

I rolled my eyes and dipped my hand into the hat, pulling out the first small piece of paper my hand landed out. Unfolding it curiously, I barely managed to hold in my gasp and grin. "Niall."

In the end, I was with Niall, Louis with Zayn, and Liam with Harry.

Unlocking the door to our room, I immediately fell back on the bed, wanting to fall back asleep... Wait... The bed? I shot up in horror when I realized that there was only one bed in the room.

How would I ever get any sleep tonight?

Chapter 16

If you're reading this, I love you. Xx

The kiss didn't last longer than a second, before Niall had pulled away.

I was still in shock, body completely frozen, mind racing, as I just stared at him. Why had he kissed me? He's looking really regretful... Why did he kiss me? I don't think I responded; that's embarrassing. Why did he kiss me?

Suddenly, his voice invaded my thoughts. "I'm sorry, Cassie. I just..." His voice was pained, hoarse, and he wouldn't look at me.

Before I could change my mind, I let the sudden smile spread across my face, waiting only a moment before he peered up at me. Shock registered across his features, soon replaced by a smile that matched my own.

The smiled faded from my face quickly. "Why... Why did you do that?"

His smile was replaced with confusion, then embarrassment. "I..." He seemed lost for a moment. I wanted more than anything to replace that look with one of happiness, to make him laugh, but I couldn't seem to find the words to.

"I've wanted to do that since I met you, actually," His face took on a determined mask as he found the words he was searching for. I could feel my face heating up already; I knew that, by the end of this, I would be so red, I'd burn to the touch. He gulped visibly before going on. "I noticed everything about you, which I'd thought was strange, because I had never noticed every detail about anyone before. I noticed the bruise on your eye..." His hand stroked, soft as his voice had become, over the place where the bruise on my eye used to be. "And I noticed when it finally faded away." His hand dropped back to his side. "And I know you don't think anybody has noticed the scars on your arm, but I have." He frowned. "Louis had told us that we weren't supposed to ask you about them, that he thought you may have been abused, and I understand that, but the scars on your arms look self-inflicted." His eyes peered into mine, worried. I lowered my gaze, swallowed, and lifted my head again, ready to explain, but he cut me off. "I'm not finished. I notice how whenever you roll your eyes, snap at someone, or even talk openly, your face always holds a faint blush, and I've come to know that's not you." He frowned again. "Although you're not showing it on the outside, I can tell you're the complete opposite of the you've been acting. You're shy, emotional, and embarrassed easily." His head cocked to the side. "I don't exactly understand why you don't just be yourself, why you act like that." His eyes stared into mine, like before, but, unlike before, he didn't go on. He stopped and waited for me to respond, a small blush finding it's way to his face.

I took a deep breath, head down, before raising it to look him in the eye curiously. "I thought that was how I'm supposed to act? Eleanor is always telling me that I'm too shy, and that I shouldn't let it show."

He was shaking his head before I had even finished. "That's how Eleanor is, Cassie, but that's not you." He paused, giving the words a chance to seep in. "You and Eleanor are complete opposites of each other, but that's not a bad thing. While it's true that all girls aren't shy, like you are, it's also true that not all girls are as outgoing as Eleanor is. There may not be a lot of girls who are like you, but that's not a bad thing. That makes you unique; unique is good."

My eyebrows merged together in confusion and consideration as I mulled over all that he'd said. If it's true that I don't have to be like Eleanor, why is she telling me to do so? I decided to ask him.

He thought for a moment before answering. "I think..." He began slowly. "It's because you're so willing. When she first met you, you weren't used to being around people, and the fact that she could have a friend that liked everything she did, because she had taught you to, made her excited. I don't think she saw that she was turning into the opposite of yourself."

I looked up at him, bewildered.

He smiled, face softening. "I like the shy part of you."

My face turned red. Did he just admit that he liked me...?

I swallowed. "If I'm not supposed to act like that..." I said in _my_ quiet voice that I hadn't used since I'd met Eleanor. He nodded encouragingly when I looked up at him for confirmation. My brows merged together. "How am I supposed to act?"

He laughed. "That's the easy part. You just act like yourself."

I thought it over for a moment, chewing on my bottom lip. Act like myself? No more rolling my eyes, snapping at the boys, and being unnecessarily mean, even though Eleanor says that no one takes anything seriously, so I could be mean all I wanted... A smile began to spread across my face. Being myself again... I think I'd like that.

Niall interrupted my thoughts once again. "Er..."

I looked up at him, smile still in place. He looked nervous. "If you're planning on acting yourself again..." I nodded confirmation, "I'd ask for one change."

I turned my head to the side in confusion. Hadn't he just said that I should be completely myself?

He took a deep breath. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

I woke the next morning happy, yet tired from staying awake, talking with Niall, so late. A glance to my side confirmed to me what I'd already guessed: Niall was still asleep even though it was- I checked my phone quickly- 12:56 in the afternoon. Typical.

Getting out of bed, I grabbed my bag and began to get ready for the day, pulling on a soft pair of jeans, my combat boots, and a long-sleeved shirt. I rummaged around in my bag curiously for a bit before pulling out a black sweatshirt with hieroglyphs on the front.

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded from the hotel room. I yanked the sweatshirt over my head and pushed the restroom door open.

I was immediately doubled over in laughter at what I saw. The boys had all piled on top of Niall.

Lou looked up from where he was sitting on Niall's head when I came out. "Good morning, Cassie!" He chirped happily. "Did you have a nice night's sleep?" He smirked.

I decided to only respond to his inability to tell what time of day it is, as I could feel an annoying blush spreading across my cheeks already. "You do realize that it's 1:30 in the afternoon, right?" I asked, giggling.

He shrugged. "I don't care what time it is. It's morning whenever I wake up." He looked down at Niall, who was still snoring peacefully, despite the four bodies on top of him, shouting, "Niall! Wake up!" He motioned to all the boys, and they began shaking him.

It took almost a full five minutes, but the boys were able to finally wake Niall up, shouting at him about wasting their precious free time, which didn't make any sense to me, because they could've used all that time to get ready, seeing as they were all still in their pajamas.

It took another ten to fifteen minutes before all the boys were ready, and we're all gathered in mine and Niall's room.

"What are we doing today, then?" Harry asked.

Louis shrugged, and they all turned to look at Liam, who was on his phone. He looked up when the boys became silent, and did a double-take when he saw them all staring at him. "What?"

"What are we doing today?" Niall asked.

Liam shrugged, causing Zayn to groan. "But you always know what we're doing on our free days!" Lou protested.

Liam just shrugged again. "Why don't you guys think of something to do yourselves for a change?"

"But that would be too much work!" Harry whined.

Liam rolled his eyes. "I don't care."

Louis turned to me. "What do YOU want to do today, Cassie?"

"M-me?" I stuttered, startled.

He nodded encouragingly.

I shrugged, a faint blush coating my cheeks. "I don't know; it's not necessarily up to me, anyway." It actually felt really good to talk in my quiet voice again; any louder was really annoying, as far as I was concerned.

Lou sighed and turning to Harry, who grinned evilly. "Club?"

"In the middle of the day?" Zayn asked.

Harry's grin faded, and he shrugged. "Any better ideas?"

Zayn sighed. "No..."

"That leaves it up to you, Niall." Louis said, turning to Niall.

Niall shrugged; Lou groaned.

Liam laughed. "Why don't we just go for lunch and then watch movies for the rest of the day?"

Lou smiled. "A bit boring, but it's an idea!" He turned to the rest of us. "Anyone have any objections or better ideas?" Liam rolled his eyes. No one spoke.

"Alright; food and movies it is!"

Half an hour, and one meal later, we were all back at the hotel, once again gathered in mine and Niall's room, while Harry set up movies on the TeleVision. We had all come to the, grudgingly, on Harry's part, agreement of no scary movies, so they had all chosen an assortment of action movies. I didn't really care what we watched, as long as it wasn't a scary movie.

Louis and I were sitting on a blanket on one side of the bed, Zayn was on the bed, and Liam was on the other side of the bed with Niall.

"All ready!" Harry exclaimed, joining Zayn on the bed as the first movie came on.

About fifteen minutes into the movie, Lou turned to me, a determined expression on his face, and whispered, "I want you to tell me about your past now."

I sighed. It wasn't like it was a bad memory, now that it was over, but I didn't feel like talking much. "Like I said before, there's not much to tell. When I was old enough to talk, my parents told me that my being born was a mistake, and that they were to beat me for the rest of my life to make up for it." I shrugged, the memory of that night, my fifth birthday, fresh in my mine, causing me to wince. I guess I wasn't really over it, but I didn't want to think about it, either.

Lou's eyebrows furrowed. "And you accepted that without question?"

I nodded, confused. "Who am I to deny the truth? It's all I know."

Louis shook his head. "That's NOT true. You weren't a mistake; you were born for a reason."

"What reason?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged. "I don't know yet, but we'll find out someday." He scowled. "Your parents should never have beaten you."

I scowled, opening my mouth to protest, but was cut off by Harry, who groaned, "Shut up..."

I giggled, and Lou returned his attention to the movie, leaving me to think about what he'd said for the rest of the night...

I clenched my hands together nervously, gritting my teeth as I listened to the boys perform their last song.

Too soon, they came running backstage, grinning and hyper from the concert. Niall had a worried crease in his forehead, though you wouldn't notice if you didn't know him well.

I watched, still nervous, as Liam clapped him on the back, and whispered something in his ear, causing him to nod.

I swallowed hard as, when the boys began feasting on the snacks that had been laid out for them beforehand, Niall's eyes sought mine.

Gulping, I nodded nervously. the nerves only calmed a bit when his hand grasped mine, squeezing comfortingly.

"Louis..."

He looked up from his food. "Hmm?" He caught the nervous expression on my face, and came over to us both. "What's up?"

I took a deep breath, even though I didn't have to say anything, even though Niall had promised to say it; just because I was losing the oxygen in my body.

"Well... Erm..." He took a breath, determination finding it's way onto his face. "Cassie and I are dating now."

The room became silent as Zayn, Harry, and Louis gaped.

Chapter 17

Judging by the extremely bored expression on Liam's face, Niall had already told him.

There were a few more minutes of awkward silence and astonished gazes before Louis regained some life in his expression - his face broke out into a grin. "It's about time!" He rolled his eyes. "I was beginning to think he'd wait until Christmas at the least."

Harry's expression was second to change. "Finally!"

Zayn followed shortly after, but, unlike th e others, his expression remained shocked, even as he began to speak. "Seriously?!" He looked around at the other boys. "Am I the only one that's surprised by this?!"

Liam shrugged while Lou looked shocked. "You're seriously surprised by this?!" He was gaping now. "This was bound to happen from day one."

Zayn looked frustrated. "So everyone knew this was going to happen, and yet no one decided to mention the thought to me?""

Louis held his hands up in defense. "Sorry, mate. We assumed you thought the same. I mean," He began, looking back at Niall and I, "You'd be pretty daft not to notice."

Zayn scowled. "Thanks. You're so kind to me."

Lou just shrugged and rolled his eyes.

Sam poked his head into the room. "You guys can go whenever you're ready, you know."

"Thanks, Sam!" Liam called to his retreating form; Sam just raised a dismissive hand in response.

"No!" Harry shouted irritably. He and Liam had been arguing like this for the past hour. It sounded to me like an argument a mother would have with her young child, not an argument between two fully-grown men, but, then again, what do I know? As Harry and Lou like to say, I 'don't get out much.'

Zayn and Louis were asleep in their bunks, Niall and I were sitting on his bunk, (he had been playing his guitar until Harry had yelled at him to shut up), and Liam was in his bed, still having that screaming match with Harry, who was standing in the doorway. I'll never understand how Zayn and Louis manage to sleep through these things. Maybe they're used to it... Then again, maybe not. What do I know?

"Whatever, Harry! Do whatever you want! It's not like I care, anyway!" Liam finally shouted sarcastically.

"Finally!" Harry retorted before storming out.

It was silent after that; I'm assuming Liam went to sleep. Niall began to play the guitar softly again. Leaning into his side comfortably, I closed my eyes before opening them again to finally take a good look around the bunk room, noticing the details I hadn't really paid attention to before:

The walls were painted a deep blue, the only blue in the room. The carpet was a soft white, and the bunks were a nice, dark wood. Everyone's specific bunks were different: Zayn's bunk with a plain, dark red comforter and a matching pillow... ultimately the most boring bunk in the room other than mine. Louis' bed was very cliché for him, with a striped comforter, green pillow, and posters on the small space of wall next to his bunk that he'd claimed as his. There may or may not have been a phone peeking out from under the blanket... Anyway, my bunk was boring, with just a white comforter and matching pillow. Liam's bunk had a black comforter with a pillow that had some kind of weird design that I couldn't decipher, Harry's bed had a comforter that was a mixture bordering on a million different colors, with a plain black pillow. Niall's bed was actually pretty boring, too, now that I really think about it. The bunk consisted to only a simple deep green comforter matched with a plain white pillow.

Niall's bed might be boring and simple, but it was massively comfortable. Only a few moments later, I had fallen asleep to the soft sound of Niall playing guitar and his comfortable bed underneath me.

I woke that morning to Niall's snoring and his arms wrapped tightly around me. I struggled to lift my head, taking a curious glance around the room when I'd finally managed to do so. Everyone was still sleeping besides Liam, who's bunk was empty. Curious, I, with much difficulty, I might add, slipped out of Niall's arms, intent on finding Liam and seeing what he was up to, considering the fact that it was only just beginning to grow light outside and the bus was still on the move. Unfortunately, though, my movements caused Niall to stir in his sleep and, before I could take a breath to try and coax him back to sleep, he was sitting up, blinking and rubbing his eyes until they settled on me.

"Cassie?" He reached out and pulled me back to him. "Why are you awake?" He asked, yawning.

"I'm just gonna go and see what Liam's up to. Go back to sleep, Niall." I murmured.

His eyelids fluttered. "Liam?" He yawned again.

"Yes." I whispered, adding, "Just go back to sleep before you wake everyone up." when I noticed Harry, who had apparently returned sometime during the night, stir in his sleep and mumble something undecipherable.

"Okay." Niall mumbled, head back on his pillow, already falling asleep again.

I smiled at his adorable sleeping face before crawling over to the short ladder at the edge of the bunk and climbing my way down. Padding my way across the room, I slowly and silently opened the door to the kitchen, only to see that Liam had pulled one of the more comfortable chairs to the window and was now sitting on it and gazing out at the passing landscape. He looked up when I came in and smiled at me, giving me the courage to smile back and walk over to stand next to him at the window.

After a few more moments of silence, I finally broke it. "What are you doing awake?"

Liam shrugged. "Just thinking, I guess." He looked over at me. "Couldn't sleep. What are you doing awake?" He asked, eyebrow raised.

I just shrugged.

After a few more moments of comfortable silence, I pulled a chair beside him and sat, resting my head in my hands.

I don't know how long we'd been sitting there - long enough for me to start falling asleep and for the sky to grow completely light.

Soon enough came the sound of the other boys waking up: Thuds and grumbled arguments.

Harry came stumbling in to the kitchen in record time. Ignoring Liam, he greeted me. "Morning, Cassie." I waved a hand in response as Liam rolled his eyes.

Niall came in a moment later, looking confused. He smiled when his eyes finally rested on me. "Cassie." I got up and he came over and hugged me tightly. "Good morning." He mumbled into my hair.

I smiled up at him. "Good morning."

Good morning, indeed.

This was just a really weird filler because I can't figure out how I want to end the story and feel bad about not updating in forever. I hope you like it anyway.

And in case anyone wanted to know, I am going to change the cover, because I don't think the one I currently have suits my image of Cassie very well, so sorry if it'll throw you off a bit. Love you all anyway (: I'm sorry if the image I have isn't the same as yours, but... Yeah. Much love. Xx

Chapter 18

Well, guys, I tried to bring myself to end this story, but then I glanced at how many reads I have... and I just couldn't. So sorry I haven't updated in forever, but... I love you guys? :( Thanks so much for reading. Xx

It's been a few months since Niall and I began 'dating', and my birthday was coming up. I'm more curious than surprised as to how it's going to go, because I've never celebrated a birthday before and I don't think the boys even know when my birthday is. I mean... I've never told them, so how could they know, right? Right. I'm right, aren't I? Of course i am.

Anyway, we're all sitting in the main room of the bus right now, (ridiculously long tour, I know), watching Liam and Zayn play some kind of video game on the TeleVision... I'm not all too sure what it is, but it's very... violent, which is an understatement.

The boys managed to get their management to allow Eleanor to visit for a while on the tour, so her and Lou were sitting on one of the couches in the corner of the room. They were fighting over something stupid a moment ago, but it looks like they're over it now - they're cuddled together on the couch, laughing at the screen where Zayn is losing horribly to Liam on the video game.

Niall and I are sitting on the other couch, also watching the game. He was sitting on one side of the couch, while i had my head in his lap and my feet dangling off the edge. I'm a master at making uncomfortable positions comfortable. It comes from spending your whole life either in a closet or an uncomfortable school desk every day.

The video was getting too violent for me to watch with interest anymore, so i turned away from the game and looked up at Niall instead. He wasn't completely focused in the game, like I'd thought he'd been, but he was completely focused on me. He smiled when I looked up at him; I gave a small smile in return.

Suddenly, Zayn gave a loud shout from in front of the TeleVision. "No fair! You cheat!"

Liam grinned at him. "I don't cheat."

Zayn crossed his arms. "Well, you did just now."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, I did."

Liam laughed. 'You realize you just said that you cheated, right?"

"Do either of you realize how childish you're being?" Eleanor asked, annoyed.

Liam scowled. "I'm not childish; I'm very mature.' He said, crossing his arms; Zayn reciprocated the action.

Eleanor just rolled her eyes; I held in a small giggle.

Liam and Zayn finally got over their small, irrelevant argument and Louis began to play with Liam. After a while of this, Niall finally cracked, which I had known would happen sooner or later. I'd guessed sooner, and I was obviously right.

"I'm starving." He groaned, before giving Eleanor a pointed look.

She raised her hands in self defense. "Why are you looking at me?!"

"Because you're the girl here!"

"Oh, so Cassie isn't a girl anymore?"

Niall rolled his eyes. "Cassie doesn't know how to cook."

Eleanor narrowed her eyes at me. I just shrugged, lifting my head off of Niall's lap and cuddling against his side.

"Maybe you should teach her to cook, Eleanor." Lou suggested, eyes never leaving the TeleVision screen.

She sighed, but got up, motioning toward me to get up, too.

I started to get up, but Niall stopped me, pulling me back on the couch. He glared at Louis. "Cassie can't do anything today."

Eleanor rolled her eyes. "Cassie, come on."

I was staring at Niall curiously, and just ignored her. "Why not?"

He looked over at Louis nervously; Lou nodded, intervening with, "Because I said so."

I sighed. "That's not an answer, Louis."

"Wait," Eleanor began. "You're the one who just told me to teach Cassie how to cook, and now you're saying that she can't do anything today?"

Lou shrugged. "I forgot?"

Eleanor rolled her eyes, turned on her heel and went into the kitchen. I didn't question Louis or Niall again.

Half an hour and a hundred undefinable sweet fragrances later, Eleanor finally came out of the kitchen, holding a huge cake and grinning. I raised my eyebrows. "I thought they wanted dinner, not dessert?"

She rolled her eyes, before placing the cake on the middle of the table in front of the couch, where everyone could see it. Louis and Liam had finished their game long ago and had been holding a boring conversation about sports or the other with Niall and Zayn. I had almost dozed off when she'd come in.

Sleepily, I peered at the cake. In white on blue icing, my two favorite colors, it said Happy Birthday, Cassie!

To be honest, I'm still completely shocked by it. I didn't think anyone knew when my birthday was...

Confused, I stared at Eleanor. "How did you know it's my birthday?'

She rolled her eyes. "You think Louis doesn't know when his own sister's birthday is."

Louis shrugged when I looked at him. "I may or may not have taken a look at your birth certificate." He was grinning evilly.

Sorry it's not much, but... We've been getting ready for a baby shower all morning, and it's about to start... Wish me luck, my fourth cousin is the worst kind of a Directionator .

Love you, bye! Xx

Btw, I know a couple of my friends are reading this and like it, but I really have no incentive to continue this story. It's hard to write it and I don't see the point in wasting my time, so... Yeah, if anyone actually reads this, it'd be awesome if you told me. Xx

Chapter 19

I've been spending the day with Eleanor as the boys have back to back concerts all day today. We've been sitting in a restaurant pretty much all day, just talking. She wants me to develop a taste in music, or whatever. She's had me listen to a bunch of different songs and tell me which ones I've liked. We've been doing that all day, and right now she's 'testing my results to find out which artists are my favorites'.

"Okay!" She says suddenly, startling me for a moment, though she doesn't seem to notice. "I've gotten your results." She says, beaming happily at me.

"Okay..."

"Your favorite artists are: One Direction, of course, The Cab, The Summer Set, Cher Lloyd, Justin Bieber, Pixie Lott, Owl City, Nicola Roberts, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Ed Sheeran, The Wanted, Ellie Goulding-"

I cut her off. "That's an awful lot of artists."

She grinned. "I know, isn't it great?!"

'Uhm... Sure?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Music is amazing. The more variety between artists that you like, the better."

I shrugged. "Okay...?"

She rolled her eyes again, before clapping. "Okay, time for shopping."

My eyes bulged out of their sockets. "Shopping?! Again?!"

Eleanor stared at me, confused. "We haven't been shopping since your second day with the boys. We need to go again! I called Danielle, she should be meeting us about..." Her eyes scanned the restaurant. "Now!" She finally said, smiling and waving to Danielle, whom I supposed was behind me. I looked over my shoulder. I guessed correctly.

"Come on."

I sighed as Eleanor held up the annoying-looking dress that she had been trying to discreetly force on me for the past fifteen minutes.

"For the last time, no."

She sighed harshly, and opened her mouth to protest, but she was interrupted before any words could come.

"Cassie?"

I turned, and was immediately thrown into a flashback:

I was standing in the background, like always, watching all this taking place, when suddenly one of the girls detached herself from the throng of students and walked up to me. She smiled.

"Hey, I'm Blake." She said, reaching her hand out to me.

I just stood there and blinked at her hand, shocked.

Blake withdrew her hand. "Anyway, my friends over there," she pointed toward the group of girls who were giggling and watching us, "dared me to come over and talk to you." She shrugged. "What's your name?"

I didn't answer. I'm not accustomed to speaking unless its a cry.

Blake stared at me for a moment, obviously expecting an answer. Just as she was about to turn around and go back to other friends, I said, quietly, "Cassie."

She paused, looking back at me with a shocked expression. "What?"

"My name is Cassie." I responded in a slightly louder voice than before.

Blake, with a mask of confusion mingling pure shock on her face, merely turned and walked away. But, before she was gone, I saw the corners of her mouth glide slightly upward. I wasn't sure that it was a smile, though. I don't really see many of those, especially not ones directed at me.

"Blake?" I asked, shocked that I was seeing her.

Blake smiled. "You remember me."

"Of course." I replied, still shocked and blushing from it. "How could I forget?"

"Cassie?"

I turned. Eleanor and Danielle were sharing confused looks. For a moment, I stared blankly at them. Then I understood. "Oh. Right. This is Blake." I said, gesturing to her. "And thise is Danielle and Eleanor." I said to Blake, who smiled.

"I know who they are. Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson's girlfriends, Danielle Peazer and Eleanor Calder, right?"

Danielle sighed, while Blake's grin, now aimed at me, grew wider and she began to say something, but was cut off by the boy standing beside her, whom I had, embarrassingly, just noticed, spoke. "Planning on inviting me into this conversation or should I just crash it?" He was grinning directly at me.

Blake looked confused, so Eleanor spoke up. "Planning on leaving the conversation or should I escort you out?" She grinned wickedly.

The boy just smirked. "Nice friends, Blake." He said, causing Blake to come back to her senses.

"Huh? OH, right. This is Cassie - I went to school with her." I didn't return the smile he sent me, even though it seemed achingly familiar... Right. The guy from the plane:

I looked up and searched for the woman that had helped me, ready to ask her how long the ride would be, but instead, I met the eyes of a boy about my age. He was wearing the same kind of uniform as the woman had, though, so I was going to ask him the same question, but... I became tongue-tied when he smiled at me. "This will be a long ride." He said. "You may want something to do... Or you can sleep." He flashed me a grin, and I bit my lip to keep from smiling back. I looked down, but when I looked up again to thank him for the tip, he wasn't there. Frowning, I turned to the window.

I cringed at the massive headache coming on; too much brain usage for one day. Did I forget to mention that I was literally diagnosed with permanent brain damage from the abuse? I don't think I did... Did I? Doesn't matter.

"And..." Blake began to get really excited. "You know that band I love, One Direction?!"

"She's about to start fangirling." Danielle whispered in my ear. "... hard."

"Well..." Blake calmed her breathing a bit. "These are two of their girlfriends." She whisper-screamed, fangirling all over again.

The boy raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.

"So..." Danielle spoke up. "Is this your boyfriend, Blake?"

Once she got over the fact that "Danielle freaking Peazer!" was talking to her, Blake was calm enough to answer.

"Nope." She said. "Adam is my best friend."

I thought over his name for a moment, arranging it with his features to see if it fit. He had dark black hair, cut just above his ears, and eyes the exact same color. Adam... It didn't fit perfectly, but it fit all right.

Blake smiled at Eleanor, who was glaring at Adam for whatever reason, before turning back to Blake. "When can we leave this stupid shop again?" Adam whined.

Blake rolled her eyes at him before smiling at Danielle and Eleanor. "It was nice to see you again, Cassie, and it was really nice to meet you, Eleanor and Danielle." She smiled again, sheepishly. "Sorry about the fangirling."

Eleanor smiled at her. "It's alright. We've gotten fairly used to it by now."

Blake smiled again before turning to leave, grabbing Adam by the arm to drag him along behind her.

Danielle, who had been nervously biting her lip since Blake had turned around, finally closed her eyes and said, "Wait!"

"Danielle..." Eleanor said warningly.

"I have to." She said, sighing, before turning back to Blake, who had stopped and turned, causing for a very annoyed Adam.

"How big of a fan are you?"

And that's how I stand, an hour later, outside one of the hotel room doors, with Danielle, Eleanor, Blake, and Adam.

"Wait!" Blake cried before Eleanor could open the door.

Eleanor sighed heavily. "What?" She grumbled.

Blake turned to me. "You never did tell me just exactly how you know the biggest boy band in the world."

I smiled, a genuine one. "Well, I guess you'll just have to wait and see." I said, adding, "Brace yourself.", as Eleanor opened the door to chaos, as always:

Louis and Zayn were taking a violent video game and transferring it to their actual life, which is to say, they were fighting over the game. Liam and Niall were sitting on one of the beds, arguing about something, and Harry was lounging on the other bed, occasionally throwing things at the other boys and turning away when they looked at him.

Blake began squealing after taking a moment to digest it all. The boys each stopped what they were doing and slowly looked up, scared expressions written all over their faces.

Lou was first to recover. He got up and went over to Eleanor, hugging her while staring warily at Blake, who had stopped squealing and was now grinning, a bit too widely. Danielle shut the door quietly.

There was an awkward silence before Adam spoke. "Sorry about Blake; she can be a bit empty-minded at times."

His words broke her out of her trance. She slapped his arm angrily. "Shut up, Adam. You know nothing."

Adam laughed. "I know nothing? Blake, I've known you since we were born; I know everything about you."

Blake rolled her eyes.

Adam grinned mischievously. "Remember that time when you pulled-"

Blake had gone bright red and smacked her hand over Adam's mouth. She seemed to lose her awe at being in the presence of One Direction after asking, "Does anyone have any tape?" She raised her eyebrows and glanced around the room.

Eleanor grinned. "Sure, there's some over-"

"Alright; there will be no tape." Liam spoke for the first time since we had entered the room.

Adam looked bored, even after Blake had dropped her hand and smiled widely at Liam.

Chapter 20

I sighed, exasperated, before just shoving the blanket completely over my head, making plans to skulk until Christmas was over.

Niall laughed, pulling the blanket off my head. "Hiding under a blanket until Christmas passes won't change anything."

"So?" I shrugged; taking the blanket back and burying myself under it again, with a firmer grip this time.

We were both quiet for a while, before I sighed, getting up to shower.

I sleepily forced myself out from under the warm spray of the shower, drying off before pulling on warm, loose clothes and a comfortable hoodie. I love winter for this very reason. The Christmas music, I love, hot chocolate is amazing. I'm not sure if that's the technical term for it, hot chocolate, but that's what it is, so that's what I call it.

When I came out of the restroom, Niall was still sitting on the couch, where I left him, but now the TV was on. I shook my head, before the sight outside the window pulled my gaze away from him... It was snowing again. Snow confused me… a lot. I just don't understand how something so beautiful could be so cold. All the time I go outside just to pick up loads of it, to see if it is as soft as it feels. The snow is soft, very soft, but that's where it stops. I can only experience it's softness for a moment before the cold seeps through the gloves Louis always makes me wear when I go outside, before it seeps through my skin, before it seeps down into the marrow of my bones. I smiled, gazing out at the snow. I hate the cold, so the only way for me to experience it without freezing my hands off.

Instinctively, I jumped when I felt two arms snake around my wait from behind. I calmed when I realized it was only Niall; his laugh (at my terrified jump), gave it away.

"Don't scare me like that, Niall!"

He laughed harder. "There's no one in the house but you and I! Who did you think it was?"

I scowled, crossing my arms and turning back to the window.

"Come on, you know it was funny, Cassie." Niall stopped laughing.

"This is unforgivable." I said, half-joking.

He sighed, but before I could make another cynical response, he had turned me around again an kissed me. I immediately forgot about whatever had been happening the second before. The only thing I could think about was how soft his lips were against mine.

I didn't get to keep that feeling very long; he pulled away, giving me no time whatsoever to at least kiss him back.

He said something, but I was too dazed from the annoyingly short kiss for my brain to process what it was. Blinking, I pulled myself out of my daze. "What?" I asked.

"We need to go pack now, Cassie." He repeated. "We're leaving tonight, remember?"

I sighed. Yeah, I remembered. All the boys were leaving for home for tomorrow, Christmas, and I'm going with Louis. Niall will be coming there later during the day since I couldn't bear to be without him for a full day. I was already finicky about being away from him for half a day – who knows what being away from him for a full day would do to me? I probably sound really clingy right now, but I just… can't be away from him for that long. He is what keeps me sane. "I remember." I muttered.

He smiled, a partly sad smile, at me and grabbed my hand, turning to lead me toward my room where he'd help me pack. He always does.

I've been here for a few hours and I already love my new family. They're all hilarious, and just like Louis through and through.

Despite my newfound love of my new family, I was falling asleep on myself. I was so out of it I couldn't even remember what any of my new sister's names were; that'll keep me up all night. (See what I did there? Yeah, I know you did ;])

Fortunately, Louis noticed me falling asleep before I actually did. "Okay, Cassie needs to sleep. She's not to having jet lag so often yet."

I didn't hear anyone's responses – I was too busy trying to stay awake to keep up with Lou as he led me to a room. I promptly passed out on what I assumed was the bed.

I woke up the next morning surrounded by pillows and… Louis', I mean my sisters yelling and pulling at me to get me up. It didn't take long for me to get up and follow them downstairs, where Louis, his Mom and his step dad were sitting in the main room.

Sighing, I sat down next to Louis on the couch, leaning my head on his shoulder sleepily. "Why am I up so early?"

He laughed. "On Christmas, a lot of times people are forced," he glared at Lottie, to which she ust grinned at, "to get up early to open gifts."

I was confused. "Why do you need to be up early to open gifts?"

He sighed. "Because some little girls," He glared at Lottie. "Can't be patient and wait."

"Hey, I'm a teen now! I'm fourteen!"

"You don't act like it!"

"Yes I do!"

"Anyway," Louis said, raising his voice, "Lottie doesn't want to wait and get up later, like any sane teenager would do."

"You just called me a teenager." Lottie grinned.

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"Why would I call you a teenager?"

"Oh; I don't know. Maybe because I am one and you secretly just want to admit it?"

"Okay; enough!" Johanna said, but she was laughing.

"Present time?" Asked Daisy excitedly, running in from the kitchen with Phoebe right behind her.

Johanna laughed again. "Yes. We'll start with Louis. You did get your little sisters Christmas gifts, right, Lou?" She glared at her son, daring him to say 'no'.

He nodded, ignoring her glare. "Of course I got them Christmas gifts, what kind of monster do you think I am?"

Johanna shrugged.

"The famous kind?" Lottie suggested.

He rolled his eyes before standing. "The gifts I bought are hidden. You'll have to find them." All three girls scrambled up to look, Lottie included. She paused in the doorway, though.

"How will we know who's is who's?"

Louis sighed, shaking his head. "You're names will be on the gifts that are yours."

"Gifts? As in plural?!" Lottie asked excitedly.

Lou just ignored her and sat down next to me again as she ran off. "I wonder how long it will take them to figure out that the gifts are all under the tree." He smiled mischievously. I looked to under the tree; sure enough, there were stacks of unwrapped gifts patiently sitting there.

For the first time, I noticed a sweet, cinnamon smell wafting from the kitchen. It smells like Johanna's started cooking something. Well, I suppose that makes sense. One of the many repeated things I continue to hear from Niall about Christmas is how great the Christmas food is. So I'm guessing specific sweets are baked for Christmas? But why would anyone in their right mind bake sweets at this time in the morning?

Louis pulled out his mobile and left the room to make a call. Johanna took the room after Mark had left too, to start talking to me. She smiled kindly at me. "So, how do you like touring with the boys? It must be stressful, with all the different time zones and stuff. Louis is always complaining about that." It took me a moment before I realized she was waiting for an answer.

"Oh, touring with the boys is fun, but that might just be me, since I've never been out of New York before this.' I said shyly.

She laughed. "What's your favorite part of touring?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Staying at a new place every few days is really amazing. There are a lot of really beautiful places in a lot of really small towns and cities, and it's sad to think that no one really knows about them."

She looked confused. "I thought they were only touring the bigger cities?"

"Oh, they are. I just really like to look out of the windows of the tour bus while we're moving to the next place."

Johanna grinned at me. "I have absolutely no clue why your parents gave you up."

I felt the familiar heat starting to flood my cheeks, but before it could fully happen, Daisy, Phoebe, Lottie, Mark, and Louis came bursting into the room. Mark came first, calmly sitting down next to Johanna. Louis came next, looking bored and annoying, sitting next to me again. High-pitched laughing announced Phoebe and Daisy's arrival. Lottie came skulking in afterward, looking cross.

You're might be confused, because Lou has four sisters, not three, but that can easily be cleared up. I met Felicite last night, but she'd had to leave right afterward. Unfortunately, she had only been able to stay for Christmas Eve this year.

While Daisy, Phoebe, and Lottie opened gifts with the occasional squeal, (from all three, not just the twins), I almost fell asleep. I was curled up on the couch, trying to pay attention to whatever, since I wasn't sure whether or not I should've been paying attention.

I glanced up when I heard my name, to see everyone quiet and looking at me expectantly.

"What about Cassie?" I asked wearily.

"It's your turn to open gifts!" Lou exclaimed, way too cheery for so early in the morning.

I felt my eyebrows pull together. "I have gifts?"

Lottie rolled her eyes. "Of course you do; you're a part of the family now."

I was still confused for the next ten minutes as I unwrapped a numerous amount of gifts from people I hardly know. Sure, they're my family now, but either way, they'd only just met me.

I never thoughts I'd say this, because it sounds massively cliché and I really hate cliché, plus I'm sure I've probably already said something like it before, but… It's just so different, being around people that don't hate you and punish you for every little thing you do, right or wrong, and I'm just really enjoying this new environment. It's so nice to have people who appear to care about you.

Later, that night to be exact, I was in a pretty much opposite state of mind than I'd been that morning. Did I mention that hunger makes me hyper now? Johanna has been cooking all day and says everything will be done soon, but I'm still freaking out inside.

Lottie is trying to play some kind of card game with me to get me to calm down…

"Cassie? Cassie!" Lottie shouted, robbing my attention from whatever it has been focused on; I couldn't remember now.

"What?" She laughed.

"So a card game is out of the question. How about I go and-" She was cut off by the doorbell; I jumped. Lottie laughed at me again. "Do you want to get it or should I?" She glanced at me one last time before getting up to answer the door. "I should probably get it; I don't want you scaring off any potential visitors."

I heard her sigh obnoxiously, before walking into the room, shouting "Lou! Niall's here for some inexplicable reason!" I looked up again quickly, more closely. Standing behind Lottie in the doorframe was Niall.

"Okay, so one of Lou's weird band friends are here." She shook her head quickly, as if to rid it of all thoughts of Lou and his 'weird friends'.

I guess it worked, because she addressed me again. "So what else would you to-" Lou came down the stairs and scowled at her before going to Niall's side.

"Were you forced to suffer the displeasure of meeting this one?" He asked Niall, solemnly shaking his head when Niall nodded, laughing. "Don't worry, the younger ones are better."

Lottie rolled her eyes again. "Cassie, how about we leave them to do… whatever it is that boys do…"

I ignored her and went up to Niall. He smiled before kissing me.

After a few seconds, Lou pulls Niall away and into the kitchen, muttering something about 'PDA'. Sighing, I just turned back to Lottie, who was gaping, bug-eyed at me. I smiled apologetically at her. Her expression didn't change.

"Cassie!" Taking the opportunity, I ran into the kitchen, where Lou had called my name… and rolled my eyes when I saw Niall already eating whatever Johanna had cooked. Of course he would start eating as soon as the food was done.

Chapter 21

Although people get up earlier than is considered healthy on Christmas, they don't go to bed early? I'm starting to think that this holiday is more of a detriment to anyone and everyone's help than anything else.

Unfortunately, we were still gathered in the main room watching some Christmas movie or whatever. I've yet to have been told the reason Demeber 25th is such a popular day.

I'd given up on trying to watch the movie a few minutes after it had started. Now I'm trying not to fall asleep to Niall's heartbeat. Speaking of Niall, he's been acting nervous and weird ever since he'd eaten, but I'm not blaming the food…

Finally, the, I must say, horrible, movie ended. Johanna woke Daisy and Phoebe, who'd fallen asleep during the movie, and told them to go to bed, to which they obliged immediately and without question. Louis dragged Lottie off to bed, going himself after her. Johanna and Mark stayed a little longer, but left soon enough. I glanced at the clock. 11:45 PM. Christmas was almost over. Niall shifted.

"Cassie?"

I sat up, trying to blink the tiredness out of my eyes. It didn't work very well. I pinched myself to keep awake, stifling a gasp when my fingernails broke the skin; Niall didn't notice.

Still confused about his being so nervous and fidgety, my mind drifted back to yesterday morning, and how adamant he was about… Wait…

I groaned. "Please don't tell me you actually got me a Christmas gift. I think I've endured enough of those for one day." Niall laughed, but it sounded forced. I frowned. "Did you seriously get me a Christmas gift?"

He smiled, nervously. "Of course I did. Why wouldn't I have? I told you I would, didn't I?"

"Unfortunately, yes, you did tell me that."

He took a deep breath before going on. "Okay, I know how much you hate cliché things-" I never told him that. "-so I didn't wrap it or anything… Uh…"

I felt the cold seep into my hand when Niall dropped a small, icy blue bracelet into my hand. It was simple, fortunately not cliché. There were two delicate silver strands with small sections coated in blue. Simple, but I like simple, and Niall knows that.

I guess I was staring at the bracelet for too long; Niall began to talk. "If you don't like it I can get you something else even though I know you said you didn't want anything for Christmas I had to get you something anyway because-"

"Niall."

He looked up at me.

I smiled. "I didn't want a gift," His face fell. "But I like this. It's blue." I said simply. He grinned before leaning over and kissing me.


End file.
